Relieving People's Burden
107. I am very concerned about the tax burden on salary earners. On salaries tax, apart from the one-off tax concessions proposed in my previous two Budgets, I have also raised various allowances and deduction ceilings, widened and increased the number of tax bands, and adjusted the marginal tax rates. These measures aim to relieve the long-term tax burden of citizens through a structural approach and increase taxpayers' disposable income, so that they can take better care of their personal as well as family needs. I have also proposed tax deductions for eligible voluntary health insurance products, deferred annuity premiums and Mandatory Provident Fund voluntary contributions as incentives for the public to get financially prepared for healthcare and retirement needs.
108. Having regard to the economic outlook in the coming year and the Government's fiscal position, I will introduce a series of relief measures, including:
| (a) | reducing salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for 2018-19 by 75 per cent, subject to a ceiling of $20,000. The reduction will be reflected in the final tax payable for 2018-19. This will benefit 1.91 million taxpayers and reduce government revenue by $17 billion; |
| (b) | reducing profits tax for 2018-19 by 75 per cent, subject to a ceiling of $20,000. The reduction will be reflected in the final tax payable for 2018-19. This will benefit 145 000 taxpayers and reduce government revenue by $1.9 billion; |
| (c) | waiving rates for four quarters of 2019-20, subject to a ceiling of $1,500 per quarter for each rateable property. This proposal is estimated to benefit 3.29 million properties and reduce government revenue by $15 billion; |
| (d) | providing an extra allowance to social security recipients, equal to one month of the standard rate Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments, Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance or Disability Allowance. This will involve an additional expenditure of about $3.84 billion. Similar arrangements will apply to recipients of the Working Family Allowance and Work Incentive Transport Subsidy, involving an additional expenditure of about $149 million; |
| (e) | providing to each student in need a one-off grant of $2,500 to support learning, involving an expenditure of about $890 million; |
| (f) | paying the examination fees for school candidates sitting for the 2020 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, involving an expenditure of about $160 million; and |
| (g) | providing, on a one-off basis, an additional $1,000 worth of vouchers to the elderly eligible for the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme, involving an expenditure of about $1.02 billion. The accumulation limit of vouchers will also be raised from $5,000 to $8,000 to allow users greater flexibility. The Food and Health Bureau is reviewing the Scheme to ensure that it can better serve the needs of the elderly. The findings will be announced upon completion of the review. |
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