Little problem in levying real estate tax

Real estate tax is a popular topic of discussion these days, with some people saying it is difficult to levy real estate tax in China because land property rights in the countries that have imposed such a tax belong to individuals, not to the State as in China.

But not all land in foreign countries belongs to individuals. In the United Kingdom for example, both private land and public land exist, and public land there belongs to various levels of government or public bodies. According to the England land law that covers England and Wales, there are two types of housing and land relationship. The first is freehold - a freeholder with property right over land can be either a single person or a group of people. The second is leasehold, in which the property right to housing is limited to just using the land, not owning it. Scotland and Northern Ireland have similar laws, the real estate tax in the UK, called Council tax, is imposed on both freehold and leasehold properties.

Some people in China also argue that the real estate tax is actually a "double tax", because the housing price includes the land price. But land price is rental and should not be confused with real estate tax. In today's multiple tax system, whether or not a real estate tax should be levied depends on whether an economy can strike the right balance between land rental and real estate tax.