One is the explanation given by Liu Kun, Minister of Finance, at the 31st meeting of the 13th the NPC Standing Committee on 20021year1October 19 on the Decision (Draft) on Authorizing the State Council to Carry out the Pilot Work of Real Estate Tax Reform in Some Areas; The other is the report of the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the National People's Congress on the deliberation results of the Decision (Draft) on authorizing the State Council to carry out the pilot work of real estate tax reform in some areas.
The report explains the basic situation of the real estate tax reform pilot, the main contents of the draft and the NPC Standing Committee's views and suggestions on the contents of the draft.
Why is the real estate tax first piloted and then legislated?
Liu Kun pointed out that the CPC Central Committee and the State Council attached great importance to the legislation and reform of real estate tax. On 20 1 1 year, with the consent of the State Council, Shanghai and Chongqing launched a pilot project of individual housing real estate tax reform. Since 20 13, according to the requirement of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee to "speed up the real estate tax legislation and promote the reform in a timely manner", the the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) Budget Working Committee and the Ministry of Finance, together with relevant parties, have actively promoted the real estate tax legislation and achieved initial results. Because the real estate market varies greatly across the country and the actual situation is very complicated, the real estate tax legislation needs to be promoted step by step and steadily.
On the basis of summing up the experience of individual housing pilot projects in real estate tax reform, combining with the new situation, further deepening the real estate tax reform pilot project can play a demonstration, breakthrough and driving role in the overall reform, strengthen demand-side management of real estate regulation, stabilize market expectations, and also accumulate experience and create conditions for unified national legislation in the future. Therefore, it is suggested that "the local pilot should be deepened first, and then the national legislation should be unified", and the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) should authorize the State Council to carry out the pilot work of real estate tax reform in some areas according to law, so as to provide legal guarantee for steadily promoting the pilot reform. In accordance with the above considerations, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice, together with the Budget Working Committee of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the State Administration of Taxation, have studied and drafted the Decision (Draft) on Authorizing the State Council to Carry out the Pilot Work of Real Estate Tax Reform in Some Areas (hereinafter referred to as the draft).
How to define the object of taxation and taxpayers?
Liu Kun pointed out that the real estate tax in the pilot areas is levied on residential and non-residential real estate, and the land use right holders and house owners are taxpayers of real estate tax. Considering that there is still a big gap between urban and rural economic and social development and residents' income level in China, in order to reduce the impact of the pilot project on rural residents, the legally owned rural homestead and its upper residence are not included in the scope of pilot taxation.
In order to avoid affecting the production and operation of enterprises, the pilot project will continue to be implemented in accordance with the Provisional Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Property Tax and the Provisional Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Land Use Tax in Cities and Towns. The scope of taxation, tax basis, tax rate, tax preference and collection management will remain unchanged, so as to ensure the shift of tax burden during the pilot project.
Who will formulate the specific implementation rules?
After the authorization of the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC), the State Council will formulate the pilot measures of real estate tax and define the specific pilot policies. The people's governments in the pilot areas shall formulate specific implementation rules and refine the measures for the pilot reform. Real estate tax collection and management involves a large number of natural persons. In order to ensure effective collection and management and optimize tax payment services, the State Council and its relevant departments and people's governments in pilot areas will build scientific and feasible collection and management models and procedures.
How to determine the pilot area?
In accordance with the principle of being active and prudent, the State Council has made overall consideration of deepening the pilot project and unifying legislation, promoting the stable and healthy development of the real estate market, and determined the pilot areas, and reported them to the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) for the record.
Have the pilot period and start-up time been determined?
The pilot period is five years. During the pilot, the State Council will sum up the pilot experience in time, and report the pilot situation to the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC) six months before the expiration of the authorization period. If it is necessary to continue the authorization, it can put forward relevant opinions, which will be decided by the National People's Congress Standing Committee (NPCSC). When conditions are ripe, make laws in time. The start time of the pilot implementation is determined by the State Council.
What was the result of the deliberation of the draft by the Constitution and Law Committee of the National People's Congress?
The NPC Standing Committee generally believes that it is necessary to promote the legislation and reform of real estate tax in a positive and steady way in order to guide the rational consumption of housing and the economical and intensive use of land resources, and promote the stable and healthy development of the real estate market, and is in favor of authorizing the State Council to carry out the pilot work of real estate tax reform in some areas. The draft is basically feasible and is in favor of being submitted to this meeting of the Standing Committee for voting.
Do the members of the Standing Committee and those attending the meeting have any opinions and suggestions for revision?
Some members of the Standing Committee pointed out that the situation of residential real estate in China is more complicated, and the housing demand and tax affordability of all kinds of people are quite different. It is suggested that the State Council be authorized to study and explore the tax elements such as the tax basis, applicable tax rate and deduction standard of real estate tax in the pilot reform process, adjust and improve them in time, and then uniformly stipulate them in the law after mature experience is formed. The authorization decision may not stipulate the relevant contents. After study, the Constitution and Law Committee recommended that this opinion be adopted and articles 2 and 3 of the draft decision be deleted.
Some members of the Standing Committee suggested that the draft stipulates that the authorization period is five years, but it is not clear when to start, and the proposal is clear. After study, the Constitution and Law Committee suggested that the relevant provisions be amended as follows: the pilot period authorized by this decision is five years, counting from the date of issuance of the pilot measures in the State Council.
During the deliberation, some members of the Standing Committee also put forward opinions on the timing of introducing real estate tax, how to authorize the decision on the specific contents such as the scope of the pilot project to link up with the relevant provisions of the legislative law, how to handle the relationship between the stock and increment of real estate, how to classify and handle the complex situation of residential real estate in practice, and how to promote it steadily.
At the same time, it also puts forward some suggestions on some specific institutional arrangements for the pilot collection of real estate tax. The Constitution and Law Committee suggested that the State Council and its relevant departments and the people's governments in the pilot areas should seriously study and absorb the deliberation opinions of the members of the Standing Committee, actively and steadily promote the pilot work of real estate tax reform, fully consider all kinds of complicated situations and possible social impacts in practice, fully consider the basic housing needs and tax affordability of all kinds of personnel, carefully study and demonstrate, and actively do a good job in publicity and guidance; It is suggested that the State Council and its relevant departments sum up the pilot experience in time, improve the pilot measures, and promote real estate tax legislation in a timely manner.