(Yicai Global) March 17 -- China will not expand its property tax experiment to more cities this year because of unfavorable conditions, Xinhua News Agency reported.

The conditions for expanding the trial are not right this year, the report said, citing a finance ministry official.

China’s top legislative body passed a resolution last October to trial a residential property tax over a five-year period, which was generally seen as a prelude to China bringing in such a levy.

The focus has now shifted to stabilizing the economy and the real estate sector, according to Chen Jie, director of the Center for Housing and Urban-Rural Development at Shanghai Jiaotong University, The Paper reported yesterday.

China’s housing market has been in a slump since the second half of last year. The government did not include property tax reform in its 2022 work report to this year’s Two Sessions, the annual meetings of the top legislative and political advisory bodies.

A suitable time to promote property tax reform will be found after the real estate sector has been steadied, Chen said.

Chinese real estate stocks rebounded strongly yesterday, with those listed in Hong Kong surging 6.8 percent and those in the mainland gaining 3.2 percent.

Developers must implement timely, powerful, and effective solutions to prevent and resolve risks and advance measures to transition to a new development pattern, the cabinet’s financial stability and development committee said at a meeting yesterday.

Editor: Futura Costaglione