China mulls further property tax reform

BEJING - China is mulling further reforms of property tax and expansion of property tax trials, Finance Minister Xie Xuren said Tuesday.

The reform will be promoted "actively yet steadily," and property tax trails should be expanded to other cities in the nation "at a proper scale," Xie said at a press conference held on the sidelines of the country's annual parliamentary session.

China introduced the property-tax trials in the cities of Shanghai and Chongqing at the beginning of last year as part of its efforts to curb runaway home prices and contain asset bubbles.

The Ministry of Finance, together with other departments, is working with the municipal governments of Shanghai and Chongqing, to collect information from the year-long trial for future expansions.

The promotion of property tax reforms can help restrain irrational home purchase demand and improve income distribution, and the tax trials have been proceeding "smoothly and steadily," said Xie.