Govt Vows Leniency Over Voucher Eligibility

An official from the Financial Secretary's Office said on Friday that some 240,000 people have been told they are not eligible for an upcoming HK$5,000 spending voucher, but promised leniency if they ask for a review.

The administration has said people who have permanently left Hong Kong or plan to do so will not be eligible for the second instalment of consumption vouchers, which will be dished out from early August.

People who have withdrawn their MPF savings on the grounds of permanent departure from Hong Kong are among those who will miss out.

However, such people can submit a review application within 14 days of being notified by the government of the rejection, either by post, email, fax, or through visiting the voucher scheme secretariat in Mong Kok.

At the Mong Kok office, a man surnamed Chan questioned why authorities did not check his immigration records before determining he was ineligible for the voucher. He said he had sought to leave Hong Kong and withdrawn his MPF savings, but later returned and kept working and paying taxes.

Another resident, surnamed Lee, said having to apply for a review was troubling.

On an RTHK programme, Jessie Wong, who heads the budget and tax policy unit, said people who have returned to the SAR can ask for a review of a rejection decision if they have evidence showing they are here to stay.

"You can submit your payslip, or if you have made MPF contributions, you can show relevant documents, etcetera," Wong said.

"We will try our best to be lenient and reasonable. Most important for us is whether the person can prove he or she fulfils our requirement of not permanently departing from Hong Kong."

Wong added that authorities have limited access to personal data from other government departments, and said, for example, there is legislation in place barring the Inland Revenue Department from sharing tax information.