Drafting of national taxation system on property ownership in progress

The drafting of a reasonable and appropriate national taxation system on property ownership is in full swing, said the vice finance minister on Wednesday.

The country will work on the legislation first, and then fully empower local governments and finally steadily push the taxation forward step by step, said Shi Yaobin, vice-minister of finance, at a news conference during the first session of the 13th National People’s Congress.

"Like most of the countries that have already implemented a property tax, the tax will be based on the estimated value of the property and give appropriate tax reductions to low-income families,” Shi said.

The local taxation authorities will be in charge of the property tax and use the tax to improve local development such as infrastructure, education and health care. Shi added that the tax base on home ownership is complicated to define, so the country needs to set up a complete tax system to ensure social fairness.

"The design of the tax system will take the country’s fundamental realities into consideration -- for example, to reduce the tax burden on real estate development and transactions,” he said. “Thus the tax will stimulate fiscal revenue while adjusting social income distribution.”

China to reform personal income tax system

China will raise the personal income tax threshold to be consistent with consumer price, and take the unprecedented step of making tax deduction specifically for such items as children's education and medical care for critical illness, said Vice-Minister of Finance Shi Yaobin on Wednesday.

He added that the country will also take an overall view of some items such as salaries and contribution fees along with the present taxation in different categories.