Abstract: Based on the investigations and researches with the principal of “respecting but not rigidly adhering to the ancient” in the context of China’s history, it is found that the house tax system in the period of Republic of China has two basic characteristics: one is that the central government of the Republic of China was not firm and complete in dividing the tax distribution of house tax, and the house tax authorities were overlapping and ran rampant with strong feudal colors, which became the “yeast” of the chaotic house tax and other taxations during the Republic of China; the second is that the authorities of the Republic of China took active actions to constantly change the system of house tax levy system along with the changes of the current political situations, making the house tax become the “oil tank” provide material guarantee to meet the government’s need of achieving its wartime financial goals. These research conclusions can provide some historical enlightenment and useful reference for the current reform of China’s real estate tax system: taking the chaotic house tax and other taxations in the period of the Republic of China as a historic mirror, we should supervise strictly the existing housing property tax collection and management system; we should steadily promote the real estate tax legislation work according to the taxation legal principles; and before the collection of real estate tax, the current system of land transferring fees should be “unlocked”.

Key words: the period of Republic of China; house tax system; the tax-distribution system; the tax farming system