Making sense of property tax proposal

Property tax has become a hot topic of discussion in the Chinese media after figuring in the Decisions on Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reforms, issued by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee as a blueprint for reforms.

China has implemented many tax reforms in the past three decades but none has attracted as much public attention as property tax. The response it has generated is surprising especially because property tax in sample cities account for only a small percentage of the total tax; it is estimated to reach 152.5 billion yuan ($25.11 billion) this year, just about 5 percent of the value-added tax. Why this big interest in a "small tax"?

History tells us that property tax has always sparked disputes. When the United Kingdom tried to collect community charge poll tax in the 1980s, it met with fierce resistance from residents, and was ultimately forced to replace it by council tax in 1993.