Hi rabbit,
No, up to this point, the Chinese have not had to pay property taxes on residential properties. The country has only levied taxes against commercial property in the past so this will be quite an adjustment for the Chinese population as a whole if the 'trial' ends up becoming the policy of the land, as expected. Clearly they want to knock the steam out of rapidly rising prices...the implications of the potential 'success' of that endeavor will have widespread effects for global financial markets, not just China itself, and particularly for commodities I would think.