BEIJING -- Stock prices of major Chinese property developers slumped up to 10% on Friday after a senior official unexpectedly revived talk of prioritizing a proposed property tax in this year's legislative work.
Li Zhanshu, chairman of the National People's Congress's standing committee, said the real estate tax was one of 18 items identified by the Central Committee of the Communist Party as a priority. "This year, we must move forward with formulating and revising urgently needed laws for deepening market-based reforms," Li said.