Relief Spending Remains High: FS

Expenditure on one-off measures to relieve people's burden and support enterprises stands at a high level relative to the surplus, even though there are fewer salaries and profits tax concessions and rates waivers compared to the previous financial year.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan made the statement at a press conference today to answer reporters’ questions on the Budget.

Mr Chan said the one-off measures in the Budget amounted to around $40 billion, a large sum considering the surplus for this financial year stands at around $50 billion.

The ratio of spending on relief measures to the surplus is quite high when compared with previous financial years, he added.

The Financial Secretary noted that in allocating the resources for the relief measures, the Government took into consideration the surplus and the external economic environment.

Mr Chan also ruled out any change to the Government's demand-side management measures for the property market or relaxing the loan-to-value ratio requirement on residential mortgages.

“On the property market, yes, we do not intend to relax any of the demand management measures.

“Last month, I think the Chief Executive and subsequently myself also stated that in terms of mortgage percentage, this would not be relaxed as well, because we do not want to be misperceived at this stage doing anything to try to influence the market.”