Recently the Chinese government changed income tax laws, to help low income workers keep more of their money.  The new law increased the number of workers who don’t have to file income tax.

The Chinese real estate industry is now warning that could reduce property sales.

In China you must have official papers declaring you a permanent resident of the area you want to buy property in.  If you don’t have such paperwork, you can use your income tax filing to show that you work in that area.  The problem with the new tax law is that it will reduce the number of migrant workers who would’ve had those tax records to use to buy a home with.

A Beijing realtor says the new tax law will reduce the number of qualified migrants, in his area, by more than 90%.

This comes after the Chinese government ordered banks to tighten mortgage lending by either increasing down payments, or increasing mortgage interest rates.