Latest news with #TreasuryBureau
HKFP
24-04-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Increase in Hong Kong airport departure tax could hurt city's competitiveness, lawmaker says
An increase in Hong Kong's airport departure tax could hurt the city's competitiveness, a lawmaker has said, after the government doubled down on plans to increase the levy from HK$120 to HK$200 despite criticism. Lawmaker Lo Wai-kwok said on a Commercial Radio programme on Thursday that amid competition from other destinations such as the Greater Bay Area, Singapore and Thailand, a tax hike could deter short-haul travellers. 'We must consider how this affects our position against neighbouring hubs,' Lo said in Cantonese. His comments came after the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau defended the tax increase in a letter to Legislative Council members on Wednesday, saying the impact of the hike would be 'minimal.' The bureau said that taking into account the per capita spending of tourists – except those from mainland China – and excluding the cost of air tickets, the proposed increase of HK$80 accounts for around 1 per cent of the overall travelling cost. 'The proposed increase of [the airport departure tax] should not provide a strong incentive for travellers to switch to other airports for travelling,' the bureau wrote. Lawmaker Perry Yiu, who represents the tourism sector, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that he was 'disappointed' by the authorities' response. 'While [I] understand that the SAR government is doing its best to increase its reserves and address the deficit, the letter did not respond to my and the sector's concerns,' he wrote. He added that the airport's traffic had only recovered to 74 per cent compared with 2019 levels, while neighbouring aviation hubs' recovery rates were at least 90 per cent. Deepening deficit Financial Secretary Paul Chan first announced the plan to increase the airport departure tax during the budget address in February as one of several measures to boost the city's reserves amid a deepening deficit. The hike – planned to come into effect on October 1 – would bring an estimated HK$1.6 billion in revenue annually, Chan said. Hong Kong logged an estimated HK$87.2 billion deficit in the 2024/25 financial year, a result attributed to a drop in land sales. In the Wednesday letter, the government said it had been in contact with the Airport Authority and major airlines to gather their views on the proposed increase. 'We consider the current rate of increase reasonable and therefore have no intention to adjust it, nor will we increase [airport departure tax] in phases or defer the increase,' the government wrote. It added that, compared with other measures to increase government revenue, such as salaries and profits tax, raising the airport departure tax would only affect air passengers. Hong Kong's status as an aviation hub took a major hit during the Covid-19 pandemic, when strict testing rules and mandatory quarantine periods in place for over three years led airlines to cut their routes to and from the city. Airport traffic figures have struggled to recover since. In 2024, the city saw 53.1 million passengers, down from 71.5 million in 2019.
South China Morning Post
08-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong considers additional tax exemptions for air transit travellers
The Hong Kong government has proposed providing more exemptions for transit travellers as lawmakers voiced concerns that raising the air passenger departure tax could divert visitors to neighbouring competitors. Advertisement Andrew Lai Chi-wah, permanent secretary for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, said on Wednesday that a further relaxation of the air passenger departure tax will be considered, including extending the exemption to travellers leaving the next day. 'Other international airports have a 24-hour exemption, and our arrangement can be more liberal than that,' Lai said during a Legislative Council meeting. 'So if you arrive shortly after midnight and the flight is on the next day, it means you can stay for longer, almost 48 hours without paying the tax.' Starting October 1, the city will increase the air departure tax from HK$120 (US$15.40) to HK$200 per passenger, projected to generate HK$1.6 billion per year in government revenue. Advertisement The measure, announced by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po in his latest budget speech in February, is part of efforts to deal with the government's deficit of about HK$87.2 billion for the 2024-25 financial year. The government said in March that certain groups were exempt from paying the tax, including those under 12 years old, direct transit and connecting flight passengers, as well as those arriving and departing Hong Kong by aircraft on the same day.
South China Morning Post
04-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Number of deals involving non-local homebuyers in Hong Kong more than triples
The number of deals involving non-local homebuyers in Hong Kong has more than tripled over the past two years, official data shows, a jump that experts have attributed in part to the government's scrapping of property market cooling measures. Advertisement But the number of transactions by local buyers increased by only 14 per cent between 2023-24 and 2024-25, with the latest level down by 34 per cent over the figure for 2020-21, when the Covid-19 pandemic started to hit the city. The shifting make-up of homebuyers was spelled out in figures the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau provided to the Legislative Council's Finance Committee on Thursday. Non-locals took part in 2,997 residential property deals in 2024-25, involving HK$31.3 billion (US$4.02 billion) in total. They took part in 700 deals in 2023-24, with HK$6.78 billion in property changing hands. In 2020-21, buyers from outside the city were involved in just 110 residential property deals. The bureau defines non-local buyers as those without any form of Hong Kong identity card. Advertisement The treasury's figures also showed that the number of deals by Hongkongers in the past financial year rose to 48,458 from 42,475 in 2023-24, which was still far behind the 72,909 transactions recorded in 2020-21.
South China Morning Post
04-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Number of non-local homebuyers in Hong Kong more than triples in 2 years
The number of non-local homebuyers in Hong Kong has more than tripled over the past two years, official data shows, a jump that experts have attributed in part to the government's scrapping of property market cooling measures. Advertisement But the number of transactions by local buyers increased by only 14 per cent between 2023-24 and 2024-25, with the latest level down by 34 per cent over the figure for 2020-21, when the Covid-19 pandemic started to hit the city. The shifting make-up of homebuyers was spelled out in figures the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau provided to the Legislative Council's Finance Committee on Thursday. Non-locals took part in 2,997 residential property deals in 2024-25, involving HK$31.3 billion (US$4.02 billion) in total. They took part in 700 deals in 2023-24, with HK$6.78 billion in property changing hands. In 2020-21, buyers from outside the city were involved in just 110 residential property deals. The bureau defines non-local buyers as those without any form of Hong Kong identity card. Advertisement The treasury's figures also showed that the number of deals by Hongkongers in the past financial year rose to 48,458 from 42,475 in 2023-24, which was still far behind the 72,909 transactions recorded in 2020-21.
