The spokesman of the State Administration of Taxation reiterated that individuals must pay taxes on second-hand home trade. Due to previous media reports of a market slowdown in the number of second-hand home transactions, some cities have scrapped the tax.

The spokesman said in the wake of a number of government initiatives, the over heated housing market has cooled down to some degree, and the luxury housing market has seen an especially big drop. He also said the number of houses purchased for investment and speculation purposes have greatly decreased.

As for the tax targeting second-hand home trades, the spokesman denied that the tax was a new policy the government levied specifically to cool down the market, saying the 20 percent tax has been in place since 1999.

(CCTV.com July 12, 2005)