(ECNS) -- Jia Kang, president of the China Academy of New Supply-side Economics, said on Wednesday that China faces no serious barriers in introducing a real estate tax, theoretically or practically.
Chinese authorities are drafting a real estate tax law and say that debate on important issues and internal consultations are underway.
According to one argument, land ownership is separate from land-use rights in China and there is no private land ownership, so no real estate tax should be imposed.
At the annual Boam Forum for Asia conference in Hainan Province, the economist said this viewpoint sounds unreasonable when considering international practices, because private ownership of land is not a precondition to levy a tax.
The proposed real estate tax in China is limited in scope because it means tax for ownership of property, Jia said.
The United States, Britain and Japan all levy similar taxes but with different names, according to Jia, who is also a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC, the country’s top political advisory body.
