China’s Jiusan Society has called for the accelerated establishment of new property taxes as well as trials of estate taxes.
The Jiusan Society (九三学社), one of China’s eight legally approved political parties, has just submitted a slew of policy proposals to the Chinese central government in the lead up to the country’s two congressional meetings in March.
Jiusan’s “Recommendations on Expediting the Steady and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Market” (关于促进房地产市场平稳健康发展的建议) has drawn considerable attention with its calls for the accelerated establishment of new property taxes as well trials of estate taxes.
The Recommendations propose that trials of vacant property taxes be launched when required, in order to reduce property vacancies and asset hoarding by investors.
They also call for research into the drafting and refinement of inheritance laws, trials of estate taxes at appropriate junctures, and accelerated research into legal issues in relation to China’s 70 year property ownership cap.
With regard to efforts by the Chinese government to improve real estate supply by expanding the home leasing market, the Jiusan Society recommends that cities including Beijing and Shanghai set aside land for rental housing and contain excessively rapid rises in land prices.
The Jiusan Society’s “Recommendations on Optimizing Leverage Structures and Effective Prosecution the War of Risk Prevention” (关于优化杠杆结构打好防风险攻坚战的建议) has also drawn media attention, with calls for improvements to the debt structure of China’s state-owned enterprises (SOE’s)
The Recommendations call for the accelerated establishment of SOE capital supplementation mechanisms, and allowing enterprises to access diversified funding sources including government, private and foreign capital, in order to ensure that enterprise capital ratios remain at “appropriate and rational levels.”
