Guangzhou cuts taxes on large homes

The southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou, Guangdong province, announced on Friday that it will reduce taxes on transactions involving larger housing units, aligning with similar measures adopted earlier by Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Starting Dec 1, the city will scrap the distinction between ordinary and non-ordinary housing, according to an official notice. This means that tax benefits previously reserved for ordinary homes will now apply to non-ordinary homes as well. Under the new rules, non-ordinary housing units, defined in Guangzhou as those with a building area exceeding 144 square meters that have been owned for at least two years, will be exempt from the 5.3 percent value-added tax (VAT) during transactions.

Passenger car sales rise 11.3% in Oct

Retail sales of China's passenger cars rose 11.3 percent year-on-year in October, the China Passenger Car Association said. A total of 2.26 million passenger vehicles were sold last month, boosted by the weeklong National Day holiday and policies including the national trade-in program, the CPCA data showed. Sales of new energy vehicles surged to nearly 1.2 million units in October, while sales of petrol vehicles dropped to 1.07 million units, according to the CPCA.

Xinhua - China Daily