Facing opposition, Beijing revokes 'true love tax'

(Shanghai Daily)

08:03, September 02, 2011

"Hey! Dude, you must emblazon my name on our house. Alright ?" 
The Ministry of Finance has stepped in to save Chinese husbands a fortune in proving that they love their wives, and vice versa. 

A recent change in China's marriage law rules that husbands and wives have no claim on property bought by their partners unless their names are on the deed. 

Two cities imposed a tax of 3 to 4 percent of half the property's value on husbands or wives who wanted to add their partners' names. 

That meant tax of up to 20,000 yuan (US$3,134) on an apartment worth 1 million yuan.

But the Ministry of Finance issued a statement yesterday saying that apartment owners wishing to register their husband or wife's name as co-owner could do so free of tax. 

When the tax was introduced in Wuhan and Nanjing recently, it sparked a huge wave of complaints. 

Many residents in the two cities accused the government of earning "a fast buck" on the back of people rushing to get their spouses' names registered as a way to win their trust following a new judicial interpretation of the Marriage Law.

The interpretation, which took effect in August, stipulates that houses mortgaged by one party prior to marriage are deemed the personal property of the registered owner, rather than the couple's joint estate.

Only when the spouse of the owner gets his or her name registered will they own part of the property and qualify for a share in its value should they split up. 
The law is believed to have caused some women to feel insecure in their relationship, and that drove their husbands to add their names to convince them of their love. Many Chinese men dubbed the deed tax the "true love tax."

The legality of governments charging such a tax was also under question as residents complained that the registration procedure should not be regarded as trading of the apartment, but government officials and lawyers argued that the tax should be paid whenever ownership of an apartment changes.

The finance ministry's statement putting an end to the tax also sparked heated discussion online. 

"Do the policy-makers have any idea that how many couples have split up just because they couldn't afford the heavy tax?" was one online post. Coco wrote: "Now they finally seem to be aware of the absurdity of such a tax." 

Min Xin posted: "I appreciate that the officials finally take action to turn marriage into its very pure nature - a couple share love and wealth, not just personal property."

However, there are also voices against it.

"It's actually the only tax that I have ever appreciated" was a comment from Joey. "My wife used to argue with me that I should put her name on the paper, while I could always use the heavy expense as an excuse. Now what am I supposed to do?"

The ministry's ruling on the tax took effect from Wednesday, which means couples who had already paid taxes in Nanjing or Wuhan by that day have lost that money, according to a Shanghai Television Station news report.

In Shanghai, however, such a tax was never imposed. Couples in the city only have to pay an 80 yuan procedure fee to register on ownership papers, the TV report said.


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