<P>China is to introduce a tax on property sales in the latest government attempt to damp demand in a real-estate market that some analysts believe is at risk of overheating.</P>
<P>Beijing will also introduce rules to reduce speculative investment in property, according to the official Xinhua news agency, which cited regulations proposed by seven ministries and government agencies</P>

<P>The new tax is a further indication that Beijing views the property sector as a potential source of economic instability and reflects the delicate balancing act the government faces in trying to take the heat out of the market.</P>
<P>House prices increased 12.5 per cent in China in the first quarter compared with a year earlier, rising 19 per cent in Shanghai.</P>
<P>Further increases in property prices in the main Chinese cities could generate discontent, especially among poorer residents who feel priced out of the market.</P>
<P>But sharp falls in property values would put pressure on the country's fragile banking system as well as depleting thepersonal savings of China's emerging middle class and hurting consumption. </P>
<P>The Chinese authorities have already moved this year to allow banks to increase the interest rate on mortgages and to demand higher deposits from house buyers in some parts of the country. </P>
<P>The banking regulator has also warned lenders to reduce loans for the purchase of luxury flats.</P>
<P>According to the Xinhua report, property owners who sell within two years of purchase will have to pay a tax on the sale price, although it did not specify the level of the tax.</P>
<P>Land that is not used for more than a year will be taxed, while sites left unused for more than two years could have their titles revoked in order to prevent hoarding by investors, the report said.</P>
<P>The People's Daily, an official newspaper, also reported on Thursday that the government would take steps to promote the construction of more low-cost housing.</P>
<P>The tax move follows the introduction of a capital gains tax on property sales this year in ShangPhai, China's commercial capital. The city is seen as the most vulnerable to a significant fall in property prices. Shanghai had “the most shocking house prices in China”, the Xinhua report said.</P>
<P>In recent weeks local media in Shanghai have run a series of reports about falls in flat prices, with declines of 20 per cent being reported in some parts of the city. However, an executive at a real-estate company in Shanghai said that the price drops had been limited largely to the luxury end of the market, the sector most affected by speculative demand. </P>
<P>Buyers include foreign investors who have bought property in expectation of a revaluation of the Chinese currency.</P>
<P>The lower end of the market had been much less affected, the real-estate executive said.</P>

[此贴子已经被作者于2005-5-14 15:33:43编辑过]