China Still Working on Property Tax Trial Expansion - Report

China's top tax bureau hasn't worked out details about an expansion of a property tax trial to include all cities across the country, state media reported Saturday.
The Chinese government has repeatedly said it would expand property taxes, which were initiated under a trial reform program in Shanghai and Chongqing last year, to include other cities. But the process has been slow due to the complexities of structuring such a tax in the various cities.
"The tax bureau, together with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Development, is working on the program that will expand the trial to include all the cities," the China Securities Journal reported, citing the State Administration of Taxation.
"Details about how to implement the property tax trial on a nationwide basis haven't been decided. [But] tax breaks will be offered to meet the basic need for housing," the report said.
The comments are also published by other major Chinese newspapers, such as the Shanghai Securities News and the Securities Times.
Currently, Shanghai imposes the property tax on homes bought on January 28, 2011 and afterwards by local families who already have more than one house. Chongqing's tax targets newly bought high-end houses only.