Chinese gov't studying property tax expansion
Updated: 2012-11-13 11:19
(Xinhua)
|
|||||||||||
BEIJING - The Chinese government is "actively studying" an expansion of the experimental property tax program in the country and may expand the program when time is appropriate, said Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Jiang Weixin on Monday.
The government will not relax current restrictions on home purchases in the short term, Jiang told reporters on the sidelines of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which opened on Nov 8.
Even though the recent rebound in house transaction volume did not pose a serious problem, the ministry is on high alert if both transaction volume and home prices increase substantially, Jiang said.
The minister's remarks came as signs of warming emerged in the country's property market after the central bank cut benchmark interest rates and banks' reserve requirement ratio earlier this year to buoy the slowing economy.
Housing sales rose 5.6 percent year-on-year to 4.63 trillion yuan ($735 billion) in the first 10 months of the year, accelerating by 2.9 percentage points from the January-September period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The Chinese government has repeatedly reiterated its firm stance on property market control and vowed to keep in place tightening measures like prohibition of third-home purchases, higher down payment requirement and property tax trials.
However, there have been concerns over the impact of the cooling property sector on the broad economy, as property investment accounts for about 13 percent of China's gross domestic output and one-fifth of the country's fixed-asset investment.
Some local authorities have "fine-tuned" their property policies since the second half of 2011 by allowing home buyers to borrow more from public housing funds, reducing taxes and fees or subsidizing home purchases.
The central government is "always ready" to take counter-measures if some cities readjust the property control policies without authorization, said Jiang.
Related Stories
Beijing property sales surge on demand 2012-11-13 10:29
Property developers sell more in Jan-Oct 2012-11-08 13:44
Property grip bites China's building materials 2012-11-04 10:52
Company profits take hit on lower global demand, cooling property sector 2012-11-01 15:25
Today's Top News
President Xi confident in recovery from quake
H7N9 update: 104 cases, 21 deaths
Telecom workers restore links
Coal mine blast kills 18 in Jilin
Intl scholarship puts China on the map
More bird flu patients discharged
Gold loses sheen, but still a safe bet
US 'turns blind eye to human rights'
Hot Topics
Lunar probe , China growth forecasts, Emission rules get tougher, China seen through 'colored lens', International board,
Editor's Picks
All-out efforts to save lives |
Liaoning: China's oceangoing giant |
Poultry industry under pressure |
'Spring' in the air for NGOs? |
Boy set to drive Chinese golf |
Latest technology gets people talking |