Profit bliss in wedded splits

Marriage and divorce are two sides of the same coin. But often on the mainland that coin isn't love, it's property. In a strange paradox, marriage and divorce - both real and fraudulent - have become ways to help people evade government restrictions on buying and selling property.

'With the new restrictions and property taxes, the numbers of fake marriages and divorces are bound to go up,' said Xie Baisan , professor and director for Fudan University Financial and Capital Markets Research Centre.

In an attempt to cool property prices, 23 mainland cities imposed austerity measures in the past two months that limit the number of properties a family can buy. They also set up barriers to non-local residents purchasing homes. In response, creative couples are turning to marriage or divorce - sometimes using fraudulent documents - to avoid taxes or to buy property in violation of the restrictions.

Last month, police detained a couple in the northeastern province of Liaoning who allegedly committed tax fraud. The couple managed to save 80,000 yuan (HK$94,700) in taxes by faking their divorce, the Xinhua news agency said.

Wang and Gao, who were quoted only by their surnames, wanted to sell two properties. Under State Council rules, a family who own a property for more than five years can sell it without having to pay tax. But this only applies to one property per family. The couple forged documents to prove they were single, split the properties between them and avoided the payment - until they were caught.

This is just one of many such cases of fake divorces and marriages that have been reported.