Paul Chan Resists Calls For Tax Rebates, Handouts

Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Thursday rejected calls for any cash handouts and new tax rebates this year, saying he didn’t see a need for it this time around.

Last year, Chan bowed to intense public and political pressure – from even pro-government parties – and announced a cash handout that was originally not included in his budget.

But speaking on a joint radio programme a day after presenting his financial blueprint for this year, Chan said the government is already sharing 70 percent of its surplus with the public through different initiatives.

One of the callers, surnamed Wong, urged the secretary to consider giving tax deductions for people like her who are paying rent.

"I earn HK$28,000 a month. I use half of it for rent. I can't get public housing, and I can't afford private housing with my income. The most basic thing that can help people like me is to offer tax deduction for our rent," she said.

Chan said he did consider such a step, but decided against it as he felt such move would send rent rates up and the only people who would benefit in the end would be landlords.

Another caller on the programme called on the government to do a better job in kicking out rich tenants from public housing, to help shorten waiting times that now stand at around five and a half years.

Apart from criticising the Financial Secretary Paul Chan for not doing enough to help people who can't afford to buy a flat, others criticised him for not using taxpayer's money wisely.

One woman said the HK$10 billion earmarked for the setting up of a public health care stabilisation fund to cope with unexpected circumstances should be spent elsewhere.

"You are wasting 10 billion dollars of taxpayers money. Apart from using it to make medical staff a little happier, have you actually solved the problem?" she asked.

Chan said he understands the overcrowding problem well because he and his brother had been admitted to public hospitals before. He said it was so crowded his brother had to sleep on a temporary bed.

The secretary said that increasing the number of beds is essential and work is already underway to build new hospitals. But he stressed that all this takes time. And before the additional facilities are ready, the government can improve the pay and benefits of medical staff dealing with the situation.