SHANGHAI, CHINA: City Resorts to Property Tax to Cool Housing Prices

By JAMES T. AREDDY

SHANGHAI—Shanghai's mayor on Friday said the city will impose a controversial tax on property, a move by China's richest city that may be rolled out nationally as authorities scout for new ways to cool housing prices.

Mayor Han Zheng told a rare press conference that Shanghai's ambition as a global center for finance, trade and shipping depends on controlling "distorted" home prices, which he said threaten to drive away talent as people fear being "slaves of their house." The tax is a "future-oriented" policy, the 56-year-old mayor said, adding "If we cannot solve the housing issue, there will be no future for the city of Shanghai."

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