2010-07-22 11:03

SHANGHAI - China plans to start levying property tax in 2012 in a pilot program that will first be rolled out in several cities, the National Business Daily reported on Thursday, citing unidentified participants of a seminar held by the Ministry of Finance.

China will pick several cities first because it would be difficult to start levying the tax on a nationwide basis, said the Chinese-language newspaper.

The newspaper did not name any cities to be included in the pilot scheme, but said that Shanghai last month submitted plans to levy property tax to the central government.

China has tightened property lending, banned third-home loans and resumed a property sales tax this year to cool a red-hot property market that threatens the country's financial stability.