Speculation nation: Can Xi Jinping’s property tax deflate China’s housing bubble?

Speculation nation: Can Xi Jinping’s property tax deflate China’s housing bubble?

Analysis: President faces an uphill battle to undo a system that has led to a bloated property sector

Xi Jinping’s to-do list has seen a lot of ticks in recent months: more flights into Taiwan’s defence zone; suppressing dissenting voices in Hong Kong; clipping the wings of tech barons; outlawing the out-of-school tutoring industry. The list goes on.

However, one key initiative – introducing a local property tax – has attracted fewer headlines but is apparently so controversial within China’s ruling Communist party that even Xi is still only able to deal in trial schemes rather than wholesale change.

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