China could deflate the housing bubble in a year if it would institute a Land Value Tax. This would tax land, not the buildings upon them, force prices down (as the Land Rent goes up, the Land Price must come down), provide affordable housing to China's increasingly restive migrant population, and decrease the excess inventory ... all while providing real revenues to the government, so it can then remove the deadweight loss of taxes on productive enterprises and income, sales, etc. Perhaps best of all, the Land Value Tax cannot be avoided, offshored, or loopholed out of. All they need is honest Assessors - not guaranteed of course, but certainly possible with the right safeguards.
- Scott Baker, president of Common Ground-NYC, a Georgist Land Reform advocacy group
http://www.opednews.com/articles/The-Land-Cycle-and-the-Sto-by-Scott-Ba…