This Potemkin Property Tax Isn't Going Anywhere
Xi’s key fiscal reform is likely to remain a facade as China needs to stabilize a distressed sector that holds up the national economy.
Is there ever going to be a good time for a property tax in China? Maybe later.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThe welter of economic data released by China on Monday should put paid to any lingering notions that the government’s plans for a nationwide property tax are going anywhere quickly.
Conditions in the real estate market look increasingly challenging. Home sales slumped almost 20% from a year earlier in December, declining for a sixth month. Property investment fell 14%, and financing received by developers dropped by the most in more than seven years, Bloomberg News reported. Figures released last weekend showed new-home prices in 70 cities slipped for a fourth consecutive month.