The news that “there are already 600 million houses in the country” has become a hot topic on major social platforms in China these days. Many netizens described that they were “shocked” by this figure. Some people worry that the avalanche of housing prices is about to begin. It was also estimated that the property tax is coming.
Jiemian News published an article on the 24th saying that the property tax issue had been pending before, but now the “nearly 600 million urban and rural housing buildings across the country” provide a solid data foundation for property tax and facilitate the development of follow-up work.
The Beijing authorities have been planning to levy property taxes since 2013, especially when Evergrande was hit by thunderstorms. Problems in the real estate market caused local governments to fall into financial difficulties. Solidly Promoting Common Prosperity” came to clear the way for public opinion, and then the authorities announced that they would levy property taxes in pilot cities. However, the “Wall Street Journal” later quoted sources who revealed that Xi Jinping’s plan to levy property taxes encountered resistance within the CCP because many people owned more than one property. Piloted in 30 cities, and finally reduced to about 10.
The Epoch Times program “Wealth and Business” commented at the time that the real estate tax is actually the last life-saving drug of the CCP, but it has been unable to promote it. As for the reason behind it, the Chinese economist Ren Zeping gave the answer in a speech in 2017 .
Ren Zeping mentioned that to promote property tax, it is necessary to find out whose name the house is in. South Korean President Kim Young-sam has spent 5 years promoting the real-name system for real estate and financial real-name system. What is the cost? South Korea had a population of about 45 million at the time, more than 2,000 civil servants were sent to prison, and two former presidents were put on trial. Therefore, Im Zeping believes that the collection of property taxes is actually a political reform. “Finance and Business World” said that it seems that Xi Jinping still wants to work under the CCP system, so he can’t use the real estate tax as a life-saving prescription to save his life.
On the other hand, in response to the CCP’s official announcement of the figure of 600 million buildings, which triggered the panic of property tax collection, some analysts said that for a long time, the number of houses in China has always been an unsolved mystery. It’s not that the authorities are incapable of finding out, but that once such figures are released, it will expose the secrets of China’s real estate bubble and serious unequal distribution. Now Xi Jinping originally hoped to save the economy through the real estate market, but this astonishing figure was exposed, shaking people’s confidence , as the two sessions are approaching, it is not ruled out that some officials deliberately told the truth and dug a “big hole” for Xi’s army, making the original hope of real estate to save the economy unfeasible.