Tenants assess Jan income tax deductions

Fresh slabs spark talk about landlord dilemma, but sector may not see impact

China's 190 million residential tenants, and probably a comparable number of owners of properties, are slowly coming to terms with a new individual income tax policy that has implications for not just the real estate industry but the larger economy.

The government's Dec 22 announcement of interim special individual income tax deductions took effect on Jan 1, with the goal of lowering the tax burden of people with certain expenditures.