In Shanghai the annual levy is 0.4-0.6% of a property's value, and 0.5-1.2% in Chongqing.

ECONOMIST: China's property market

And Chancellor George Osborne also ruled out an annual levy on wealth, another idea floated by the Lib Dems, telling Sky News it was not a "sensible" way of getting the better-off to contribute more.

BBC: Conservative conference: Cameron in benefit cuts warning

Julia Gillard, the prime minister of Australia, scored a political victory when the lower house of parliament passed the controversial Minerals Resource Rent Tax, which will subject mining companies to a higher levy on annual profits.

ECONOMIST: Politics this week