Surplus To Benefit The Community

Financial Secretary Paul Chan has laid out various measures to share Hong Kong's substantial fiscal surplus for this year with the community.

During his Budget Speech today, he announced the 2017-18 salaries tax and tax under personal assessment will be cut by 75%, capped at a ceiling of $30,000.

This will benefit 1.88 million taxpayers and reduce tax revenue by $22.6 billion.

Profits tax for 2017-18 will also be reduced by 75%, subject to a ceiling of $30,000.

The move will benefit 142,000 taxpayers and cost $2.9 billion.

For homeowners, the Government will waive rates for four quarters of 2018-19, subject to a ceiling of $2,500 per quarter for each rateable property.

About 3.25 million properties are eligible and the proposal will cost $17.8 billion.

To help recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance and Disability Allowance, the administration will provide an extra allowance equal to two months of the standard rate.

This will cost $7 billion.

Similar arrangements will apply to those receiving the Low-income Working Family Allowance and Work Incentive Transport Subsidy, involving additional expenditure of $379 million.

Mr Chan also wants assistance for those who are not on social welfare.

"I will invite the Community Care Fund to consider providing short-term relief for low-income households not living in public housing and not receiving CSSA."

These are commonly known as the "N have-nots households".

To boost learning, the Government will provide a one-off grant of $2,000 to each student in need, which will cost $740 million. The measure will benefit 371,000 students.

The administration will also pay test fees for candidates taking the 2019 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, involving expenditure of $180 million.

The measure will benefit about 50,000 students.