China to tax property sales

From The International Herald Tribune:

The Chinese government has moved to impose new taxes and restrictions on property transactions in what appeared to be its strongest attempt yet to prevent a property bubble from developing in China’s biggest cities.

The announcement, which was disclosed Thursday on the official Xinhua press agency, comes at a time when Chinese officials are growing increasingly worried that soaring real estate prices could help overheat the country’s already fast-growing economy, and possibly lead to social unrest.

See also “China to tax property sales” in the Financial Times and “Tax for housing sales decided” from Xinhua.