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新民黨提交 2024-25年度《財政預算案》建議書
新民黨提交 2024-25年度《財政預算案》建議書
日期︰2024 年 1 月 11 日
特區政府正就2024-25年度《財政預算案》展開公眾諮詢。新民黨主席暨立法會議員葉劉淑儀女士、常務副主席暨立法會議員黎棟國先生、副主席暨立法會議員容海恩女士、執委暨立法會議員陳家珮女士、中委暨立法會議員李梓敬先生、中委暨立法會議員何敬康先生、副主席暨沙田區議員潘國山先生、執委暨屯門區議員甘文鋒先生、執委羅卓堅先生、中委暨東區區議員盧曉楓先生,與沙田區議員姚嘉俊先生,今天(11日)會見財政司司長陳茂波先生,提交《財政預算案》建議書(詳見附件),共提出廿四項建議,涉及提振投資市場、維持政府財政穩健、稅務措施推動可持續發展、推動經濟多元發展、關顧基層及民生等方面。
新民黨主席暨立法會議員葉劉淑儀女士在與財政司司長會面後會見傳媒,分享新民黨提交的各項建議。她表示:「今天新民黨會見財政司司長提出《財政預算案》建議,分幾個部分,涉及即時提振經濟與信心;提升長遠競爭力;關顧基層,改善民生等方面。」
「其中有關即時提振經濟及市場信心的措施,首先我們建議撤銷買家印花稅(BSD)和新住宅印花稅(NRSD),應該『撤辣』,因當年政府提出引入有關印花稅,是屬於需求管理措施,現時地產市場的問題,不是沒有供應,而是缺乏需求,政府最近也停止賣地,因應市況雖然政府已『減辣』,但物業交投仍然下跌,差餉物業估價署公布的私人住宅售價指數持續下跌,物業市道欠佳影響很多相連的產業,因此我們認為自從2011年開始推出額外印花稅(SSD)等『辣招』調控樓市以來,至今已十多年時間,目前是時候撤銷這些措施。」
另外,葉太建議研究下調股票印花稅,「去年政府已將股票印花稅下調至買賣雙方各付0.1%,但股市仍然沒有太大起色,當然有其他複雜的因素影響。但因香港是少數股票市場,買賣雙方也需付印花稅的地區,因此我們認為仍有空間再就此下調,建議稅率減至各付0.05%,即是買賣雙方合共減至0.1%,紓緩證券業的交易成本。」
「另一項建議比較新穎與重要,就是建議金管局在外匯基金撥一定份額,如5%購買香港上市的股票,可選擇市盈率低、派息高,甚至市值比資產低,非常穩健的公司,這樣可提振市場信心。很多投資者入市,不知道股價的高低水平,如政府帶頭入市可提振市場信心,建議金管局改變其投資策略,既提振市場信心,也增加政府投資收入。」葉太總結。
執委羅卓堅先生,本身是金融界人士,他促請政府推動股票市場多元發展,深入檢視創業板(GEM)的發展潛力(附件第4點建議)。同時他支持政府推動金融創新(附件第5點建議),及建議政府檢討稅制,盡快就回復收支平衡制定具體方案及落實時間表(附件第6及7點建議)。
常務副主席暨立法會議員黎棟國先生稱:「新民黨非常關注近年政府的財赤問題,財政司司長已預告今年財赤情況將持續,或超過一千億元,因此我們敦促政府在預算案中清楚講明如何處理香港的財赤問題,特區政府近年的支出非常鉅大,而近年因應疫情支出大增,而賣地及印花稅收入則減少。希望司長可多想些方法,加強香港投資者的信心,以增加政府各方面稅收的收入,彌補開支。」
另外,黎棟國先生也要求政府研究開徵超級奢侈品稅(附件第8點建議),他舉例可就私人飛機、遊艇等奢侈品徵收稅項,「這些奢侈品非常消耗能源,如徵收特別稅項,可以『一箭雙鵰』,既可增加政府收入,也可減低對環境的破壞,關注減碳。」
副主席暨立法會議員容海恩女士關注中產的支援措施,希望司長可減輕納稅人的稅務負擔,如放寬申請住宅租金扣稅的資格(附件第18點建議)。她也建議資助中小企引入人工智能方案,提升中小企競爭力(附件第16點建議);要求降低「特殊需要信託」的年費(附件第22點建議)。
中委暨立法會議員李梓敬先生則建議調低烈酒稅,稅率由100%減至50%,目標將香港打造成高端烈酒拍賣中心(附件第10點建議)。
中委暨東區區議員盧曉楓先生,建議延續「電動車首次登記稅的寬減安排」(附件第9點建議);檢視港口設施及功能佈局(附件第11點建議);及促請政府設「完善創新產業生態專家小組」,吸納更多相關企業來港(附件第12點建議)。
執委暨屯門區議員甘文鋒先生,關注屯門內河碼頭的發展,要求政府重新規劃其用地,提振經濟(附件第11點建議)。
中委暨立法會議員何敬康先生,關注香港的旅遊業發展,建議政府推出「訪港旅客消費折扣券」(附件第17點建議),及擴闊「文化藝術盛事基金」的申請資格,及至接受演唱會的申請,吸引更多周邊經濟活動的發展(附件第14點建議)。
執委暨立法會議員陳家珮女士,要求增設聘用外傭免稅額,引入累進式子女免稅額,增加供養父母及祖父母或外祖父母的免稅額,以減輕納稅人及中產人士的稅務負擔(附件第18點建議)。她也促請政府推出第四輪「樓宇更新大行動2.0」(附件第20點建議);要求政府預留資金推行「預防性維修」理念,協助業主組織妥善處理維修問題(附件第21點建議);及建議在中轉屋邨試行「社區客廳」,加強有需要人士的共享空間(附件第24點建議)。
沙田區議員姚嘉俊先生,則要求政府改善鄉村基本設施,包括要求加快推展「鄉村污水收集系統計劃」,及加快安裝鄉村照明系統(附件第23點建議)。他又建議政府「開源」,將過往政府部門行政方面內部的審批程序進一步簡化,他舉例,社區建設的升降機建設「人人暢道通行計劃」,建成需要三年時間,程序可能因涉及修建道路、移走樹木等工程,內部部門之間需要一至兩年時間,行政費用及時間浪費,建議應研究減少行政時間,及節省成本。
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CEPA's further liberalizations open doors for HK
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Regina Ip says residents must work hard and innovate to tap into mainland's vast services market
On Oct 9, when a financial frenzy gripped Hong Kong's roller-coaster stock market, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government brought happy tidings of long-lasting impact to the real economy. The good news was that the Ministry of Commerce had agreed to make further amendments to Hong Kong's trade-in-services agreement with the Chinese mainland. The amendments would bring real benefits to Hong Kong's service industries through further opening-up of a number of important mainland service sectors to Hong Kong.
The Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) Agreement on Trade in Services, as it is formally called, was signed on Oct 9, witnessed by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu and senior central government officials.
The CEPA is a free trade agreement concluded between the mainland and Hong Kong in June 2003, as part of the mainland's effort to boost the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's then-sagging, post-epidemic economy. Under this agreement, access to 18 service sectors on the mainland was liberalized.
As Hong Kong is a predominantly service-oriented economy, greater benefits would accrue from opening up more mainland service sectors. The HKSAR sought a trade-in-services arrangement with the mainland, which was signed in November 2015, and implemented in June 2016.
In response to continued requests from Hong Kong for more liberalization, agreement was reached in 2019 to amend the trade-in-services agreement and add new liberalization measures. On the 20th anniversary of the signing of the CEPA in June 2023, the mainland had fully or partially opened up 153, or 96 percent, of its 160 service sectors to Hong Kong.
In spite of such progress, Hong Kong's service providers have complained that "the big door has opened; but small doors haven't". By that, they mean restrictions continued to apply in many sectors, such as construction and related-engineering services, which require service providers to have acquired three years of operating experience before they could commence service provision.
Another example is the film and TV industries, where Hong Kong has an early lead and considerable international recognition. Entry into the mainland's market was hampered by restrictions on investment and the number of Hong Kong-origin actors or creative personnel allowed to take part in the production.
The latest set of amendments removed restrictions in a number of service sectors where Hong Kong has a competitive edge — namely, construction and related engineering services, film services, television services, tourism services, financial services, and telecommunication services.
The three-year local operating requirement for construction and related engineering services will be removed when the amendments enter into force on March 1, 2025.
Hong Kong's film industry will be able to invest in enterprises engaged in film production on the mainland; and qualified film service providers will be able to distribute imported buyout Hong Kong movies on the mainland. As for the television industry, the quantitative restriction on Hong Kong residents participating as principal creative personnel in online television dramas, a fast-growing industry on the mainland, will be removed.
The market access improvements in the tourism and financial services sectors are significant. To promote multidestination tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, measures will be introduced to facilitate the entry of foreign group tours to the whole of Guangdong province through more control points in Hong Kong. Mainland visitors participating in international cruise itineraries will be able to make permit-free transit in Hong Kong. This will enable more cruise ships operating from mainland ports-of-call to call at Hong Kong.
The measures facilitating the entry of Hong Kong's financial services into the mainland market have been long sought after. The $2 billion requirement for Hong Kong financial institutions investing in shares of insurance companies will be removed. Foreign bank branches established in Hong Kong will be able to conduct bank card services on the mainland. Consideration will be given to extending the scope of eligible products under the "mutual market access" program by including new products such as real estate investment trusts. Continuous improvements will be made to various mainland-Hong Kong "Connect" schemes to enhance connectivity of the capital markets of the mainland and Hong Kong, and to reinforce Hong Kong's status as a global financial center and offshore renminbi business center.
Hong Kong's telecommunication service providers will also get a slice of the mainland market. They will be allowed to distribute in the mainland telephone service cards that can be used globally but cannot be activated on the mainland.
In addition to expanding market access, the amendments bring an innovative breakthrough in allowing Hong Kong-invested enterprises on the mainland to adopt Hong Kong law and to choose Hong Kong or Macao as the seat of arbitration should such need arise. Such unprecedented measures will promote the adoption of the common law in commercial areas on the mainland, and enhance Hong Kong's importance as a regional arbitration center.
The business community warmly welcomed these improvement measures. Immediate action was taken by many foreign chambers of commerce to include details in their websites or newsletters.
In 2022, trade in services between the mainland and Hong Kong amounted to HK$306.2 billion ($39.41 billion), accounting for 28 percent of Hong Kong's trade-in-services trade. The amendments will not only be beneficial to both mainland companies and Hong Kong enterprises, but also represent another step up in the modernization of mainland China's service industries, drawing on Hong Kong's experience.
To bolster Hong Kong's sluggish economy, many in Hong Kong have pressed for quick fixes like increasing the amount of duty-free goods that mainland visitors can bring home, or allowing those entering under the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme to spend more on property.
Quick fixes have been implemented before, the most prominent being the rapid expansion of the Individual Visit Scheme, which opened the floodgates for mass tourism from mainland China. Such programs did help Hong Kong achieve a fast turnaround, but they skewed the local market, and took away Hong Kong service providers' incentives to innovate and diversify. Now, many Hong Kong service providers face a rude awakening that they are being left behind.
The amendments provide a framework for Hong Kong service providers to achieve greater access to the mainland's market. But nothing is a given. Hong Kong people must work hard and innovate to ride the next wave of ascendance of the Chinese mainland's vast services market. Or they will be left behind.
The market access improvements in the tourism and financial services sectors are significant. To promote multidestination tourism in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, measures will be introduced to facilitate the entry of foreign group tours to the whole of Guangdong province through more control points in Hong Kong.
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香港應爭取舉辦「一帶一路」運動會
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7月17日,新民黨會見行政長官李家超,遞交《施政報告》建議書,我特別向行政長官提議,特區政府應向中央政府爭取,讓香港聯同其他粵港澳大灣區城市,在大灣區舉辦「一帶一路」運動會。我認為這建議對國家、對大灣區,以至對香港,都有多方面好處,非常值得特區政府推進。
「一帶一路」倡議是中國提出的,2013年9月和10月,國家主席習近平先後在哈薩克及印尼宣布推動「絲綢之路經濟帶」及「二十一世紀海上絲綢之路」。推進發展11年,除了興建基建、發展產業、提振經濟、鞏固法律等方面,開拓體育發展亦是必要的。
國家在2019年發布的《體育強國建設綱要》中已強調,要「構建體育對外交往新格局,共建『一帶一路』體育發展行動計劃」;今年7月,「三中全會」《中共中央關於進一步全面深化改革 推進中國式現代化的決定》更提出要「完善推進高質量共建『一帶一路』機制」、「完善陸海天網一體化布局,構建『一帶一路』立體互聯互通網絡。」我認為舉辦「一帶一路」運動會能加強「一帶一路」列國之間的交流,促進世界大同,是對上述戰略目標的有效實踐。
香港一直推動體育「五化」,包括普及化、精英化、盛事化、專業化和產業化,「一帶一路」運動會當然是體壇盛事,並且能為體育產業化作出巨大貢獻。須知道體育競技不單止有運動員,還有專項教練、體能教練、心理輔導、體育醫療、器材及用品、服裝品牌,以至法律與訟裁等等,舉辦大型運動會能壯大運動產業的發展,讓年輕人看到更多出路,經濟效益也會隨之而至。
提到經濟效益,相信沒有人會漠視體育經濟的創收。美國NBA在2022/23年賽季的贊助收入高達16.6億美元歷史新高。在內地,國家隊多位金牌運動員在巴黎奧運後推出的廣告代言和雜誌封面多不勝數。孫穎莎代言的品牌護膚品在開售十分鐘便突破千萬人民幣銷售額,勝過內娛頂流。即使不是簽約代言,與他們有關的周邊商品也會賣個盆滿缽滿,淘寶在8月份發布了《2024巴黎奧運同款帶貨力榜》,全紅嬋、鄭欽文及孫穎莎便分列「運動員帶貨力」的頭3位。
香港過去舉辦的體壇盛事也帶來門票、廣告,以至旅遊、餐飲、酒吧等周邊豐厚的經濟效益。例如每年的香港國際七人欖球賽便吸引數以萬計的海外球迷來港,平均每年帶來約4億元收入。今年3月在香港舉辦的LIV Golf職業巡迴賽的總賽事獎金2500萬美元(約1.95億港元),為特區政府帶來3000萬元稅收。巴奧期間有不少熱門賽事在黃金時間舉行,香港的酒吧生意增加約兩成。
可以預料,若香港舉辦「一帶一路」運動會,會吸引大量相關人員及遊客來港,屆時特區政府可推出一系列運動旅遊路線、餐飲及周邊產品,大力推動體育旅遊,擴闊經濟收益。這也是國家在2017年推出的《「一帶一路」體育旅遊發展行動方案》所強調「外引內聯」、「盤活體育資源」的實踐目標。
當然,要舉辦規模這麼大的綜合型運動會,籌備必然經年,不會一蹴而就。目前看來,2025年有全運會、2026年有亞運會,未必是理想年份;2027年或者是適合的契機。再者,若短期內未能舉辦整全的「一帶一路」運動會,也可以在香港舉辦個別運動項目的「一帶一路」聯賽,例如劍擊、馬術等,來個先行先試。
總結而言,在大灣區舉辦「一帶一路」運動會,能提升「一帶一路」的形象,提高大灣區的國際知名度,開拓香港體育旅遊經濟新格局,一舉多得,特區政府應盡快主動向中央政府爭取,以得先機。
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駐美經貿辦各有不同功能 / The economic and trade offices in the U.S. have different functions
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香港特區政府在美國設有3 個經濟貿易辦事處,分別位於華盛頓、紐約和三藩市。據知,除駐華盛頓經貿辦外,其他駐美經貿辦均設有招商引才專組或投資推廣組。投資推廣組成立多年,而招商引才專組是本屆特區政府根據「搶人才」、「搶企業」的方針設立的。那麼,為何華盛頓經貿辦沒有設立這些小組?
華盛頓是美國首都,美國聯邦政府、美國國會、最高法院、聯儲局,以及大使館、律師行和說客公司(lobbyists)等都在華盛頓運作,招商引才專組難以有效發揮作用。其次,華盛頓辦事處主要與政府打交道,即所謂的「G2G」,而非企業間的聯絡「B2B」,這也是其與貿發局辦事處的主要區別。貿發局的辦事處主要與企業打交道屬「B2B」,不享有政府辦事處的特權與豁免。
選擇設立經貿辦的地點需要考慮幾個因素,例如考慮該地區的功能及有沒有大量港人聚集等。紐約辦事處不僅負責紐約事務,還要兼顧美國東岸除華盛頓以外的工作,例如需加強與美國主流傳媒及商界溝通。美國東岸各校林立,如波士頓和費城便吸引大批香港學生求學。此外,紐約擁有豐富的文化設施,如博物館和表演中心等,同時也是國際傳媒中心,例如《紐約時報》的總部便是設在紐約。三藩市則是重要的財經中心、金融中心,靠近科技重鎮矽谷,也是許多港人的聚集地,對促進香港與加州及華盛頓州的政府科創企業及大學交流可以發揮作用。
香港的政務官職系與一個國家的外交部性質不同,政務官沒有義務到外地工作,因此不少政務官因家庭理由或對涉外工作缺乏興趣,而對調派外地,特別是遙遠的北美洲卻步。試想一屆任期通常3 年,調往外地可能影響配偶工作及子女的教育安排。因此,不少政務官都不熱中調派外地工作。
The economic and trade offices in the U.S. have different functions
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has established 3 economic and trade offices in the United States, located in Washington, New York, and San Francisco. It is known that apart from the economic and trade office in Washington, the other economic and trade offices in the U.S. have dedicated teams for investment promotion or talent attraction. The investment promotion teams have been established for many years, while the talent attraction teams were set up by the current SAR government based on the policy of "attracting talent" and "attracting enterprises." So why hasn't the economic and trade office in Washington set up these teams?
Washington is the capital of the United States, where the federal government, the U.S. Congress, the Supreme Court, the Federal Reserve, embassies, law firms, and lobbyists all operate. It is difficult for the talent attraction team to be effectively utilized in Washington. Additionally, the Washington office primarily deals with government-to-government (G2G) interactions, rather than business-to-business (B2B) interactions, which is the main distinction between it and the Trade Development Council office. The Trade Development Council's offices mainly engage with businesses in a B2B capacity and do not enjoy the privileges and exemptions of government offices.
Several factors need to be considered when choosing the location for setting up economic and trade offices, such as the functions of the region and whether there is a large concentration of Hong Kong people. The New York office is responsible not only for affairs in New York but also for work on the East Coast of the United States outside of Washington, such as strengthening communication with mainstream U.S. media and the business community. The East Coast of the United States boasts numerous prestigious schools, attracting many Hong Kong students for education, such as in Boston and Philadelphia. Moreover, New York has rich cultural facilities like museums and performance centers and is an international media hub, with the headquarters of The New York Times located there. San Francisco is a significant financial and economic center, close to the tech hub of Silicon Valley, and a gathering place for many Hong Kong people. It can play a role in promoting exchanges between Hong Kong and government, tech startups, and universities in California and Washington state.
The nature of the civil service officer system in Hong Kong differs from that of a country's foreign affairs ministry. Civil service officers are not obligated to work overseas, so many officers are hesitant to be posted abroad, especially to a distant place like North America, due to family reasons or lack of interest in foreign-related work. Considering a typical term of 3 years, being posted abroad may impact a spouse's job and children's education arrangements. Therefore, many civil service officers are not enthusiastic about being posted overseas.
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