Property law sparks marriages, divorces
Source: Xinhua |
April 4, 2013, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A GOOD many couples are taking the extreme step of divorcing their spouses or entering into "fake" marriages after a string of housing price control measures were announced recently.
The regulations, aimed at cooling the property market, were rolled out last week.
The new law introduced by the Beijing government last Friday stipulates that single adults with permanent Beijing residence registration are banned from buying another property, leading some to enter into "false" marriages to skirt the regulation.
This is not the first time that price control policies have had an impact on marital status in China.
Early last month, the State Council said a 20-percent individual income tax would be levied on capital gains by home sellers whose families own more than one apartment.
Days after the regulation became a law, couples across the country flocked to register for divorce to avoid paying taxes.
A restriction on the number of residences in big cities has also led people to get into a "fake" divorce.
Zhang Zhongliang, 39, decided to divorce his wife - not to end their 18-year relationship - so that he could buy a third apartment for the family.
Earlier, the couple had bought an apartment near the son's school. But as per the city law, they could only buy two apartments.
"I had no alternative but to divorce and more couples might be forced to walk this road," said Zhang, who lives in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province.
"After we get divorced, my wife will claim our apartments so I can buy a new apartment as a first-time home buyer. We will remarry after that," Li said, adding that he got the idea from a local newspaper.
The number of people seeking divorce has increased dramatically over the past month, an employee of the Civil Affairs Bureau in Wuhan's Wuchang District admitted.
A report carried by the China Youth Daily said 1,255 couples registered for divorce from March 4 to 8 in north China's Tianjin City - a 470 percent increase compared to the number the week before.
"The 'fake' divorces and marriages reveal loopholes in the country's property control policies," said Xia Xueluan, a sociology professor from Peking University.
Professor Qiao Xinsheng of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law said modern attitudes toward marriage have contributed to the phenomenon.
The regulations, aimed at cooling the property market, were rolled out last week.
The new law introduced by the Beijing government last Friday stipulates that single adults with permanent Beijing residence registration are banned from buying another property, leading some to enter into "false" marriages to skirt the regulation.
This is not the first time that price control policies have had an impact on marital status in China.
Early last month, the State Council said a 20-percent individual income tax would be levied on capital gains by home sellers whose families own more than one apartment.
Days after the regulation became a law, couples across the country flocked to register for divorce to avoid paying taxes.
A restriction on the number of residences in big cities has also led people to get into a "fake" divorce.
Zhang Zhongliang, 39, decided to divorce his wife - not to end their 18-year relationship - so that he could buy a third apartment for the family.
Earlier, the couple had bought an apartment near the son's school. But as per the city law, they could only buy two apartments.
"I had no alternative but to divorce and more couples might be forced to walk this road," said Zhang, who lives in Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province.
"After we get divorced, my wife will claim our apartments so I can buy a new apartment as a first-time home buyer. We will remarry after that," Li said, adding that he got the idea from a local newspaper.
The number of people seeking divorce has increased dramatically over the past month, an employee of the Civil Affairs Bureau in Wuhan's Wuchang District admitted.
A report carried by the China Youth Daily said 1,255 couples registered for divorce from March 4 to 8 in north China's Tianjin City - a 470 percent increase compared to the number the week before.
"The 'fake' divorces and marriages reveal loopholes in the country's property control policies," said Xia Xueluan, a sociology professor from Peking University.
Professor Qiao Xinsheng of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law said modern attitudes toward marriage have contributed to the phenomenon.
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