China may delay its much-feared property tax amid price slump in nation’s real estate industry

China’s legislature authorised the expansion of the property tax from Shanghai and Chongqing to more cities

The rapid deterioration of the property sector fans speculation that the detailed implementation may have to wait until the market picks up, analysts said

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An aerial view of the Evergrande Changqing community in the Hubei provincial capital of Wuhan on September 26, 2021. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 12:44pm, 6 Jan 2022

China’s property tax could be another casualty of the slump in the housing market, with analysts expecting the government to hold off on expanding trials of the levy because of a real estate-led economic slowdown.

In October last year, China’s parliament authorised the limited property tax in Shanghai and Chongqing be expanded to more cities, with some analysts forecasting that it could begin by the end of 2021. However, the rapid deterioration of the real-estate sector and the lack of any detailed implementation plan from the State Council is fanning speculation that the government is waiting for a market uptick before it starts the tax.

“Now may not be an appropriate time to launch the trials as the economy and the real-estate market are both under pressure,” said Liu Jianwen, a Peking University professor who is also the legal adviser to the Finance Ministry and legislative adviser to the standing committee of the National People’s Congress.

Although the nation’s top leaders are “very cautious” about it now, the trial won’t be shelved for a long time as officials are “very determined” to start it, Liu said last week.

China has been talking about rolling out a nationwide property tax to regulate the market and control soaring prices for over a decade, since before the trial began in Shanghai and Chongqing in 2011. Nothing has happened so far, likely due to opposition from homeowners and developers who are afraid the levy would push prices lower.