“Property tax rollout on the cards” plus 3 more

Property tax rollout on the cards
Property tax referendum approved in Orange Beach
Property tax comes after surge in China bank lending
Clay County: Property tax rate increase may be in the offing

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Property tax rollout on the cards

Posted: 22 Jul 2010 07:08 PM PDT

China plans to start implementing a property tax in two or three years on a trial basis, a source from the Ministry of Finance told China Daily on Thursday.

A worker at a construction site in Huaibei, Anhui province. Wu He / For China Daily
The National Business Daily had earlier reported that the property tax might be rolled out in several cities under a pilot program in 2012.

But the ministry source indicated that it was still not clear whether the trials would start in 2012 as the government had chalked out a three-year time frame for launching the program.

The property tax program would be tested in some cities before it is implemented on nationwide basis, the source said.

Earlier reports had indicated that Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Guangzhou will be among the first batch of cities that will start collecting the tax. The Shanghai and Chongqing governments submitted applications in April this year to levy the property tax on a pilot basis.

Property tax is expected to boost the coffers of local governments and will also help curb realty speculation by increasing the holding costs.

In May this year, the State Council had approved the guidelines submitted by the National Development and Reform Commission for systematic reform of the economy. Prominent among the proposals was the clause to "gradually push the reform of the tax on the holding of properties".

Qin Hong, deputy research head of the Ministry of Housing and Rural & Urban Development, feels that the government should indicate a time line for levying the property tax to dispel doubts among citizens.

Nie Meisheng, president of the China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce, said fixing the criteria for such a tax might take a long time, as the government needs to assess the value of properties and employ millions of professional appraisers to carry out the exercise.

The government will come out with guidelines and ask the local governments to formulate detailed rules based on their specific markets, said Edmund Ho, managing director of DTZ North China, a property consultancy.

ANZ economist Liu Ligang feels that the government may decide to impose a tax of around 0.8 percent of the market value of the property for owners of multiple apartments, beginning with the second home. According to Liu, people with multiple homes account for over 20 percent of the nation's real estate market.

But some analysts indicate that the cost of implementing the tax may turn out to be higher than expectations.

Liu Shangxi, deputy director of the Research Institute for Fiscal Sciences under the Ministry of Finance, said the cost of imposing such a tax would be huge and policymakers will need to reconsider its necessity before taking any major steps.

The levying of the tax will have little impact on home prices and local governments may have to incur high costs for assessing houses and identifying the right people, he said.

Source:China Daily

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Property tax referendum approved in Orange Beach

Posted: 23 Jul 2010 07:10 AM PDT

Published: Friday, July 23, 2010, 9:02 AM

ORANGE BEACH -- Voters will head to the polls Sept. 28 to decide if the city should permanently increase its property tax rate from a Baldwin County low of 4 mills to 6.

The City Council, missing the absent Pattisue Carranza, voted unanimously Tuesday night to set the special election, which will be held at the Community Center on Canal Road.

While the election's date has been set and the polling place chosen, it is unclear if the tax increase would be levied on owner-occupied homes, city officials said Wednesday.

In 2004, when Orange Beach was flush with the spoils of the real estate boom, elected officials waived the municipal ad valorem tax for any dwelling that served as someone's primary residence.

In recent days, however, the wording of that 2004 law have prompted questions about whether the exemption covered only the 4 mills currently levied or all municipal property no matter what the rate.

City Clerk Cathy Constantino said Wednesday that municipal staffers are researching the matter. It may turn out that the council will have to either amend the 2004 law to cover any new millage, Constantino said. And it may be that the 2 mills would be levied on owner-occupied homes if the referendum is approved.

A mill equals $1 for every $1,000 in assessed value. Owner-occupied homes are assessed at 10 percent of their appraised value while the commercial property, vacant land and second homes are assessed at 20 percent. Annually, 2 mills amounts to $200 in new taxes for the owner of a $500,000 vacation property but only $100 for the owner of a primary residence of the same value.

For the city, 2 mills would, under current tax rates, bring in an extra $1.5 million each year -- though if owner-occupied homes are included that number could be slightly higher.

Earlier this year a three-member citizen finance committee recommended raising the property tax rate by 1 mill to plug a budget gap of about $750,000 forecast for 2011. Though the council initially rejected the proposal, financial losses associated with the Gulf oil spill prompted them in May to enact a one-year 1-mill increase, which will be reflected in this winter's tax bills.

Mayor Tony Kennon proposed letting residents decide if they wanted to permanently raise the tax rate by 2 mills to prevent future budget cuts that city officials say would significantly reduce municipal services.

"We're down 60 something jobs from two years ago and still providing the exact same services that we were with 60 more people," Kennon said in a Wednesday afternoon interview. "We're very, very lean and I feel good about what we do with the money.

"There is no fat to be trimmed."

The mayor said Orange Beach's financial situation will be a regular discussion at council meetings leading up to the election and at least one public forum will be held on the topic.

Kennon said he expects the referendum will garner strong opposition from people who own investment real estate. But he said he thinks that many residents favor raising taxes, which have fallen in recent years amid declining property values, over cutting services.

"We have a strong sense in our community that they want to maintain this level of service and this quality of life and they're willing to pay $200, $300 a year more for that," Kennon said. "So I do think there's a good chance it will carry."

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Property tax comes after surge in China bank lending

Posted: 22 Jul 2010 07:00 PM PDT

More eugenics achieved and more money robbed for bankers under the sustainable development scams pushed by them.

U.S., LOWER MEKONG COUNTRIES VOW TO ENHANCE CO-OP TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. Source: Xinhua.

Foreign ministers from lower Mekong countries and the United States vowed here Thursday to enhance cooperation towards a sustainable development.

The ministers made the commitment during the second U.S.-Lower Mekong Ministerial Meeting held here Thursday, said a press release issued by the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting was co-chaired by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Gia Khiem and the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Lower Mekong countries participated in the meeting include Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

At the meeting, the ministers expressed their determination to strengthen the cooperation between the United States and lower Mekong countries in four main areas including environment, health, education and infrastructure, said the press release.

The United States announced a three-year program to assist the four lower Mekong countries in developing cooperative strategies to address the impact of climate change on water resources, food security and livelihood.

The ministers also witnessed the signing of the memorandum of understanding for a "sister river" partnership between the Mekong River Commission and the Mississippi River Commission.

The Mekong River Commission is an international, country-driven river basin organization that provides the institutional framework to promote regional cooperation for the sustainable development of the Mekong River Basin. The Mississippi River Commission is responsible for maintaining the Mississippi River in the United States as a navigable waterway while preventing flooding.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MEANS EUGENICS AND DELIBERATE ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION FOR MORE MONEY FOR THE BANKERS TO BE PAID BY SUCKER GOVERNMENTS AND ITS PEOPLE THROUGH THE CARBON TAX SCAM.

Clay County: Property tax rate increase may be in the offing

Posted: 23 Jul 2010 11:39 AM PDT

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Next week, Clay County Manager Fritz Behring will recommend a 3.7 percent property tax rate increase for 2010-11, despite a 15 percent drop in the size of the county budget. Declining revenues and increased costs are to blame, county officials said. At a 2 p.m. Tuesday meeting, the County Commission will decide whether to tentatively approve the recommended rate or set an alternative one ...

Property Tax

Friday, July 23, 2010