Land tax exemption for foreigners goes in China
Afp, Beijing
China has removed an exemption for foreign investors in land taxes starting from this year, state media reported Tuesday, as part of its latest effort to cool the sizzling real estate market. "Beginning January 1, joint ventures and wholly foreign-owned firms will no longer be exempt from paying land-use tax," the Xinhua news agency reported. The ending of the privilege to foreign investors would ensure a "more even playing field" for domestic and overseas companies, Xinhua said. "The new regulations will also bring to an end to the unfair treatment of domestic companies which had to pay taxes and fees that overseas firms have been exempted from for nearly two decades," it said, citing official sources. Meanwhile, annual land-use tax rates were also tripled depending on the size of the city and types of land use, it reported. The new policy is aimed at "bringing better control and better planning to the development and re-development of land," Xinhua quoted government sources as saying.
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