Property tax bill not to be discussed this year: spokesperson

Fu Ying, spokesperson for the fifth session of China's 12th National People's Congress (NPC), speaks during a press conference on the session at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 4, 2017. The fifth session of the 12th NPC is scheduled to open in Beijing on March 5. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

BEIJING, March 4  -- There is no plan to submit a property tax bill to lawmakers for deliberation this year, a spokesperson for the annual session of China's top legislature said Saturday.

"There have been a lot of discussions on this issue, as such a bill involves a wide range of interests," Fu Ying, spokeswoman for the fifth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC), said at a press conference.

China's current housing tax mechanism mainly taxes development and sales of a property, without taxing home ownership or the market value of homes.

As part of the efforts to cool the property market amid growing public complaints over runaway housing prices, China introduced a trial property tax in cities like Chongqing and Shanghai in 2010.

A reform plan approved by the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee in 2013 made clear that the legislation of taxes in the property sector would be accelerated.