Nation aims for U.S.-style property tax
THE government aimed to introduce a U.S.-style property tax in the future through reform of the existing real estate tax system, Jia Kang, director of the fiscal science institute under the Ministry of Finance, said Sunday.
Jia also said local governments in China s central and eastern regions should make property taxes a major source of income in the future, and that local governments in western China should try to make resource taxes a major source of income. Analysts have raised concerns that local governments in China are too dependent on land sales for revenue. Jia didn t give any details of China s planned tax reforms. Unlike a U.S.-style property tax, which is based on a property s updated market value, China s tax on commercial real estate is based on the original purchase price.
HK property price may be entering bubble
HONG KONG S home prices could be entering a bubble amid a battle between surging liquidity and government efforts to cool the property market, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said.
Residential real estate values-to-gross domestic product had exceeded the city s peak of 3.13 times in 1997 and could overshoot to 3.5 times next year base on the brokerage s forecast of a 15 percent increase in home prices in 2011, analysts led by Lucia Kwong said in a report dated Friday.
Skoda to make compact SUV in China
CZECH carmaker Skoda Auto would start producing its compact SUV, the Yeti, in China in 2013 and planned to build up capacity, dealerships and new products to boost its share in the country, a newspaper reported yesterday.
The final agreement for production of the sport utility vehicle was inked by Skoda and Shanghai Volkswagen, the Chinese joint venture between Volkswagen and SAIC Motor Corp., last week, Skoda chairman Winfried Vahland said. Skoda sold 167,000 cars in China in the first 11 months of 2010, up 56 percent. The country would be the biggest market for Skoda in 2010, accounting for one-fifth of the brand s global sales, he said.
Australia Shanxi s top import source
AUSTRALIA has overtaken the European Union to become the biggest source of imports for North China s coal-rich Shanxi Province.
According to a report released by the Shanxi Department of Commerce, the province s total imports from Australia in the first 10 months totaled US$1.76 billion, up 51.7 percent year on year. The report said the surging price of iron ore contributed to Shanxi s increased value of imports from Australia.
