Before, the real estate tax was mainly voiced by the Ministry of Finance, but in May 1 1, four departments related to real estate tax legislation met together. The experience of pilot cities and the opinions of relevant experts can also provide reference for promoting real estate tax legislation. It can be seen that the arrival of property tax is certain, but what is uncertain is the details such as the time and standard of levy.
In April this year, Wang Jian, spokesman of the Finance and Taxation Bureau of the Ministry of Finance, said that it is necessary to continue to promote the introduction of property tax legislation.
In June 2020, Liu Kun, Minister of Finance, proposed to actively and steadily promote the legislation and reform of real estate tax.
Why should we emphasize the importance of property tax collection? This is because the real estate tax has many benefits to the national economy.
First, increase fiscal revenue.
State taxes are taken from the people and used by the people. Don't think that financial income has nothing to do with yourself. If the national fiscal revenue increases, it can not only be used to improve urban infrastructure construction, but also increase the construction of social security systems such as education, medical care and old-age care.
Take providing for the aged as an example. According to the data of the seventh census, the elderly population in China has exceeded 260 million. Some experts said that aging and declining birthrate will be one of the biggest gray rhinos in China. With the decrease of the newly born population and the increase of the proportion of the elderly population, the arrival of the aging era will bring great challenges to the economy, and the increase of the proportion of the elderly population will also increase the consumption of social resources. It is necessary to increase fiscal revenue, build suitable facilities for the elderly, increase more nursing homes and issue pensions to the elderly, all of which require financial support.
In the past, most of the taxes paid by consumers when buying a house were collected at one time. If the property tax can be levied, it can be levied every year in the holding link, which expands the source of fiscal revenue and can help us cope with the arrival of the aging era.
Second, income distribution can be adjusted.
Workers need to pay taxes on their wages. The higher their wages, the more taxes they have to pay. This means that taxes play a secondary role in the distribution of wealth on the basis of more work and more income according to work. After the property tax is set, the higher the value of the property, the more taxes will be paid. People who don't have houses don't have to pay taxes. In the process of collecting property tax, the rich pay more taxes and ordinary people pay less taxes, which plays a role in cutting the rich and helping the poor.
For example, in Chongqing, individual-owned single-family villas and high-grade houses with prices more than twice the local average price need to be taxed. If a family of three has only one house of 100 square meter, there is no need to pay taxes, and the burden of ordinary workers is reduced.
Third, it can stabilize the macro economy.
Property tax is different from deed tax and value-added tax. When buying a house, deed tax and value-added tax are levied at one time. No matter what the price of this house rises, you don't have to pay it again. However, the property tax is a tax on the holding link, and it will go with the market according to the market evaluation price. After the property tax is levied, it will increase the cost of holding multiple suites, reduce the investment attribute of houses, and do not rule out the phenomenon of selling houses at low prices. By then, the house can be transferred from investors to those who just need it, stabilizing the macro-economy and consolidating the effect of real estate regulation.
Property tax was piloted in Chongqing and Shanghai 10. Some people think that housing prices in these two cities are still rising, and property tax does not seem to be able to reduce housing prices. In this regard, economist Konka believes that the positive role of property tax is undeniable. If there is no pilot, the property market in the two places may be hotter and house prices may be higher.
When will the property tax be introduced?
Wang, director of the Department of Taxation and Administration of the Ministry of Finance, said that it is necessary to gradually increase the proportion of direct tax system in tax revenue and actively and steadily promote real estate tax legislation. The word "active" indicates that the legislation of real estate tax may be accelerated, and the word "safe" indicates that the reform of real estate tax will not happen overnight, but we should consider whether the preparatory work is in place.
Whether the national real estate information and household registration information can be networked, and whether different tax rates need to be set at different levels of economic development in different places are all problems that need to be solved.
It is necessary to legislate on real estate tax, but in the legislative plan 202 1 published by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), there is no mention of real estate tax, so the probability of its introduction this year will be very small.
At the end of 2020, China Academy of Social Sciences suggested in the China Housing Development Report that property tax should be levied during the Tenth Five-Year Plan period. Some hot cities can take the lead in speeding up the pilot.
Konka, an economist, believes that real estate tax is urgent, otherwise it will only become more and more passive. Ma Guangyuan believes that the concept of housing without speculation has been widely recognized, and the Tenth Five-Year Plan period is a good opportunity to levy property tax, which can be supported by public opinion. Therefore, it is generally believed in the industry that it is more likely to levy property tax during the 14 th Five-Year Plan period.
How is the property tax levied?
The collection standard is a concern of many property buyers. Ordinary people's wage income is tax-free. In order to give full play to the role of tax in regulating income distribution, some experts suggest setting up a "standard of exemption amount".
However, there are many views on how to set the standard of exemption. Some people think it should be exempted according to the number of square meters, while others think it should be exempted according to the number of sets. Konka believes that if the first suite is deducted, it will bring social problems such as divorce tide.
Therefore, many experts still insist on the exemption according to the number of square meters per capita. Zhang Xuedan, an expert in finance and taxation, believes that the exemption area of property tax can be set at 40 square meters to 60 square meters per capita with reference to Shanghai. Regarding the tax rate, he thinks that the tax rate can be set in the range of 0.2%~ 1.2%.
Shanghai's property tax collection area is more than 60 square meters per capita. If we refer to Shanghai, the national property tax-free area is 60 square meters per capita, and the tax rate is set at 1.2%, then the total tax-free area of a family of three is 1.80 square meters. According to the current national average house price 1 ,000 yuan, once this ratio is exceeded, we need to pay 2 1, 600 yuan every year.
However, some experts believe that taxes should not be levied within the scope of exemption. If the total housing area of a family of three is 400 square meters, which exceeds 220 square meters, the tax will be levied according to this 220 square meters, and 26,400 yuan will be paid every year.
The property tax rate in the United States is between 1%-3%. The property tax rate in Germany is around 3.5%. Japan's fixed assets tax rate is around 2%. In contrast, 1.2% is at a relatively low tax rate.
Although many low-and middle-income people will worry about the pressure brought by property tax, in fact, after the government's fiscal revenue increases, the city's infrastructure construction will be more perfect, and the corresponding social security facilities such as old-age care and medical care will be more complete. In the long run, the collection of property tax is also conducive to the regulation effect of the property market and the steady development of the economy.