Christopher Hui Visits Bureau Staff

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Christopher Hui visited departments under the bureau's purview today.

Mr Hui first visited the Inland Revenue Department's Document Processing Centre where he observed the processing of tax returns and e-filing of employers' returns.

Since the end of last year, the department had started to accept tax payments through the Faster Payment System to provide the public with another convenient means to settle payments. Mr Hui noted that arrangements are being made to extend the service to other government departments.

He also toured the Business Registration Office to understand its overall operation and the counter service arrangements for business registrations during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Mr Hui then continued his visit at the Treasury and spoke to frontline staff of various divisions to learn about their services, including the work progress of the dedicated team in preparing to disburse $10,000 to residents under the cash payout scheme.

He thanked staff for their contribution to the implementation of different relief measures that helped the public tide over difficult times.

Mr Hui's last stop was the Census & Statistics Department to learn about its work including preparation for the 2021 Population Census.

He noted that the population census aims to obtain up-to-date benchmark information on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population and on its geographical distribution. Such information is vital to the Government for planning and policy formulation.

Mr Hui called on the community to support and help the Government draw up a blueprint for Hong Kong's future development.

Before wrapping up his tour, he visited the Service Centre on Trade Statistics and the Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviewing Centre.

Mr Hui said: "I really appreciate colleagues for going the extra mile to maintain public services in the past few months, and for their efforts in handling jobs with the greatest flexibility amid the pandemic.

"In the course of economic recovery, I appeal to colleagues to create a more business-friendly environment for the benefit and convenience of the public, by means such as adopting a wider use of technologies, putting in place more competitive tax arrangements or removing procedural barriers, which will help our people cope with the economic downturn."