Regulator says China has no plan to raise taxes on share trading

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China's securities regulator on Friday denied market talk that the government is considering a series of measures to cool the stock market, including a hike in stamp tax on stock trading. On Thursday, rumours circulated on social media claiming that several government agencies had met and suggested raising stamp taxes, resuming capital gains tax, and limiting margin financing to cool the market which they considered to be "bubbly". The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement that the tax rumours were fictitious, and it will punish those who spread the rumour. The CSI300 index of top Chinese companies <.CSI300> was trading down 0.5 percent in early morning trade, after ending flat on Thursday. (Reporting by Samuel Shen and Kazunori Takada; Editing by Eric Meijer)