久久亚洲国产成人影院-久久亚洲国产的中文-久久亚洲国产高清-久久亚洲国产精品-亚洲图片偷拍自拍-亚洲图色视频

Turning the economy around

By Oswald Chan | HK EDITION | Updated: 2024-03-03 16:23
Share
Share - WeChat

Cutting expenses is a quick fix for HK's swelling budget deficit, but diversifying and creating new growth sources, drawing up a clear economic revival blueprint, and making a comprehensive review of the tax regime would help put public finances back on track. Oswald Chan reports from Hong Kong.

Hong Kong has had budget deficits in four of the five fiscal years since 2019-20. Presenting the 2024-25 Budget on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po again painted a bleak picture, projecting another deficit of HK$101.6 billion ($13 billion) for the fiscal year of 2023-24 on the heels of a HK$122.3 billion shortfall in the previous fiscal year.

From the 1998-99 to 2003-04 fiscal years, the special administrative region government had incurred five budget deficits (except 1999-2000).

The city's fiscal reserves are predicted to have dwindled by about HK$400 billion in the past four fiscal years (2020-21 to 2023-24). The reserves are estimated to have slumped to HK$733.2 billion as of March when they stood at HK$834.8 billion a year ago. The SAR's fiscal reserves have only surpassed HK$1.1 trillion, which is the highest level since 1997, during the fiscal years from 2018 to 2020.

For the fiscal year of 2024-25, the administration is expecting another budget deficit of HK$48.1 billion after taking into account bond issuance proceeds, and fiscal reserves are expected to decrease to HK$685.1 billion by the end of March 2025. Total government expenditure and revenue for the year are estimated to be HK$776.9 billion and HK$633 billion, respectively.

Heightened geopolitical tensions, rising US interest rates and a slower-than-expected economic recovery on the Chinese mainland have clouded prospects of an economic rebound for Hong Kong following the COVID-19 pandemic. The administration had spent more than HK$600 billion on anti-COVID-19 and countercyclical measures to fight the pandemic and reboot the economy from 2020 to 2022, exacerbating the city's budget deficit woes.

Government expenditure grossly exceeded revenue in the past decade, with spending having jumped by more than 75 percent - from HK$433.5 billion in 2013-14 to HK$761 billion in 2023-24 - while revenue estimates edged up by just 41 percent during the same period - from HK$455.3 billion in 2013-14 to HK$642.4 billion in 2023-24.

Tang Hei-wai, a Victor and William Fung professor in economics at HKU Business School and associate director at the Hong Kong Institute of Economics and Business Strategy, expects the deficit to improve when the local economy regains momentum next year or by 2026, and various initiatives to curb spending, such as freezing job recruitment and encouraging technology digitalization to reduce staff costs, are implemented.

Tang says the SAR must strive to expand its narrow tax base, suggesting the possibility of levying a sales tax in the medium or long term. But he believes neither a capital gains tax nor a land departure tax is practical as they would restrict the flow of capital, talents and tourists into Hong Kong, crimping its economic competitiveness in Asia. The solution for the deficit problem, Tang suggests, could be in raising tax revenues by boosting economic growth.

"This concerns whether Hong Kong can have a clear and effective industry policy to promote new economic activities. With such a policy, there would be inflows of capital and talents to bolster our economic capacity," Tang says.

He points to structural causes for the continued budget deficits. "Hong Kong's public finances focus mainly on the inflow and outflow of cash every financial year. Article 107 of the Basic Law requires the SAR to maintain fiscal discipline stringently. Therefore, the government cannot make financial commitments for long-term infrastructure and land projects, thus crimping the city's long-term economic vitality, productivity, competitiveness and growth prospects that should be addressed urgently."

Article 107 under the Basic Law stipulates that Hong Kong shall follow the principle of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget, and try to achieve a fiscal balance, avoid deficits and keep the budget commensurate with the growth rate of its GDP.

The 2024-25 Budget says the SAR government is making progress on the Northern Metropolis while consultancy work continues on the Kau Yi Chau artificial island reclamation project, which is an essential part of the Lantau Tomorrow Vision. However, the Kau Yi Chau project's implementation time will be slightly later than the Northern Metropolis as the government has to consider the financial cost.

Tang believes that when it is difficult to implement the Lantau Tomorrow Vision and Northern Metropolis simultaneously amid soaring budget deficits, the Northern Metropolis project should get priority. "This area is an important land source to meet population growth for transforming Hong Kong into a mega metropolis with a population of 10 million to lure overseas capital and talent to support economic growth.

"Moreover, the Northern Metropolis development is also vital for pushing the goal of developing high-technology industries and new industrialization in Hong Kong, as well as fostering deeper integration with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," he says.

Tang says that as Hong Kong's debt-to-GDP ratio is relatively low, it makes sense to provide leeway for bond issuances to meet the funding of long-term infrastructure and land investment projects, while ensuring that the city's credit rating is not affected.

1 2 3 Next   >>|
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 日韩影院久久 | 韩国在线精品福利视频在线观看 | 国产在线视频精品视频免费看 | 亚洲欧美综合国产精品一区 | 久草视频资源在线观看 | 视频亚洲一区 | 国产精品综合一区二区 | 欧美日韩一区二区三区视视频 | 成人永久福利在线观看不卡 | 国产欧美一区二区日本加勒比 | 美女福利视频午夜在线 | 亚洲第3页 | 99热久久精品免费精品 | 久久综合一本 | 欧美一级毛片免费播放aa | a网站免费| 中国老妇另类xxxx | 国产1级片 | 精品在线视频观看 | 欧美做爰野外在线视频观看 | 手机国产精品一区二区 | www.亚洲黄色 | a级片在线观看视频 | 91精品国产爱久久久久 | 国产午夜不卡在线观看视频666 | 日本免费视| 美国一级特a黄 | 国产欧美日韩亚洲 | 欧美高清在线精品一区二区不卡 | 精品国产成人高清在线 | 131美女爱做免费毛片 | 国产人做人爱视频精品 | 亚洲最新在线视频 | 亚洲欧美日韩国产专区一区 | 国产视频在线免费观看 | 一级黄色美女视频 | 可以免费看黄的网址 | 91久久亚洲国产成人精品性色 | 亚洲三级黄色片 | 欧美成人怡红院在线观看 | caoporen国产91在线 |