China Tells

Property Price in China, particularly in the first tier cities, had a rampant jump in 2009 (See Chart from Chinatells). Increasing number of people are starting to be discontent with the more and more unaffordable housing price (See Article from Economist). One of the numerous suggestions to curb the housing price hike is to levy a property tax on all the houses. Such tax is expected to limit the speculative motivation to own more apartments than one’s need, as the property tax need to be paid every year over the life of the property. I think in principal it is a good idea, and also proved to be effective in some other countries. However, whether a good policy works toward the desired impact not only depends on its starting point, but also depends on the execution and details, which would be more challenging to qualify in the context of China property.

房地产价格一直是人们争论的热点话题之一。由于09年房价飞涨，关于征收房产税的建议渐渐引起人们的注意。根据发达国家的经验，征收房产税应该在一定程度上能够抑制炒房热情和投机需求，因为房产税每年都需要上缴直到房子脱手。但是在实际操作中，如何保证估值合理，减少偷税漏税等等都是需要思考的问题。