"I think that the property tax will be pushed at the federal level. But it's still impossible for it to be passed this year," says Zhang Xuedan of the Ministry of Finance's tax revenue research division. He says that the Ministry has made property tax a top research priority, and that it will likely be completed by the end of 2007.

"Because tax revenue reform needs steady implementation, and since this year has already seen the merging of two taxes, it is impossible for another tax law to be passed in 2007."

Property tax is linked to real estate. In the process of a property increasing in value, the owner pays a periodical tax. It is a universal practice in developed countries.

After adjustments to the real estate industry in 2003, a decrease in vacant properties, and more market liquidity, the cry for a new property tax rose once again.

For local governments looking to open up new avenues of income, property taxes have been a trend. But Liu Han, associate dean of the Finance and Public Management Department at the Central University of Finance and Economics, says that recently, the government is considering adjusting property taxes in order to improve the tax system. This is more important than opening up new avenues of income.

Beijing, Shenzhen, Nanjing, Chongqing, and six other cities and regions began using a trial property tax where no actual tax being collected, but financial, taxation, housing management, and land administration departments instead simulate the levying of a tax.

After the two congresses this year, public debate over property taxes flared up again. A critical turning point was the passage of "Property Rights Law".

Some scholars felt that obstacles to the new property tax included land and housing rights that weren't clearly protected, and the delayed "Property Rights Law". But this obstacle was cleared during the fifth plenary session of the tenth National People's Congress on March 16 when the Law was passed. After brewing for 13 years, the law achieved 2799 votes of approval, 52 votes of opposition, and 37 abstentions.

As federal and local 2006 and 2007 budgets were reviewed and approved during the Congress, "research into property taxes was clearly mentioned. This signifies that property taxes will formally enter the Ministry of Finance's work schedule." On March 18 the State Council's vice-premiere, Ceng Peiyan, also mentioned during a high-level forum "the steady carrying out of a property tax and the standardization of property sales income management."