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China is seeing a rush of divorces after new property curbs were announced over the weekend, as couples sought to dodge forking out more money to sell or buy homes.
At the Changning district marriage registration center in Shanghai, staff saw an increase in the number of people applying for divorces, according to a staffer interviewed by China Real Time. 'There's definitely an increase, but not a massive one. Usually there could be about 20 cases we handle a day, and after the new rules, it was about 30,' said its director, who would only give her surname Yu.
'We end usually at 11:30 a.m., but today, it was extended to 12:30 p.m.,' she added.
Local media reported that marriage registrars in Shanghai and Nanjing saw record numbers of divorce applications after the new property curbs were announced.
At 5 p.m. Monday, Nanjing city recorded 294 divorce cases, double the usual number, said the Guangzhou-based Xin Kuai Bao newspaper.
The number of people applying for documents stating that they are single also rose in the last few days, Ms. Yu said. 'Typically there are around 100 applications a day, we're seeing close to 200 now,' she added.
China's State Council, or cabinet, said late Friday it would strictly enforce a 20% tax on profits from the sale of the seller's second or subsequent home. Currently, most sales are taxed at only 1% to 3% of the home's value. China will also raise down payments and mortgage rates on second-home sales in cities where prices had risen too fast.
While details are still hard to come by, sellers appear to believe divorce is one potential way to dodge the tax. A couple with two homes, hoping to sell one, could get a divorce so that each apartment belongs to an individual, treating both as first homes. The sale of one of the homes will then be tax exempt.
The government hasn't released additional information, and date of implementation remains unclear. In some cities, the announcement also triggered a rush among property owners to sell ahead of the policy's implementation.
Long queues of owners, many of them with their property deeds in their hands, were in evidence at a government housing office in Shanghai when China Real Time paid a visit on Tuesday. Many were trying to register their home sales before the tax increase went into effect.
Some observers have noted that the divorce rate could rise further when the tax is in force.
Fake divorces aren't new in China. In 2010, when cities rolled out restrictions limiting families to only one additional home purchase, many couples sought fake a divorce to bypass the rules.
'The reason that they give is that they've lost mutual affection for each other, but we don't know what the actual reason is,' Ms. Yu said.
The Shanghai Daily reported that in the past two days, a pregnant woman had also sought a divorce at a registration center in Yangpu district in Shanghai. 'She told me she came here to avoid possible loss in the property transaction, and I could say nothing,' the paper said, citing an official at the center | 
发表于 2013-3-19 09:16
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