China quintuples arable land use tax

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-06 23:39

The State Administration of Taxation didn't identify the increment that the regulations may result in taxation revenue. But sources with the administration said that money would be mainly go to agriculture and farmers.

The ordinance also scrapped the previous "zero-tax" treatment for the construction of railways, airport runways and parking aprons and imposes a  rate of two-yuan per square meter for such usage.

China's alert on inefficient land use and shrinking farm land was marked by a central government order to adopt the strictest management of land resources in 2004.

In mid-September, the Ministry of Land Resources (MLR) kicked off a 100-day campaign to crack down on local governments which illegally transfer householders' land to property developers.

On Wednesday, the MLR together with the Ministry of Finance and the People's Bank of China jointly issued a circular, requiring local governments to track land supply in a systematic and regular manner so as to improve a land reserve system amid intense concerns over a 9.5 percent year-on-year housing price rise in 70 major cities this October.


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