Subsidized housing, eldercare stressed as consultation opens

The primary focus of this year's policy address should be on the economic development of Hong Kong in relation to the 12th Five-Year Plan, Rita Fan, a member of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), said on Monday.

She predicted that Chief Executive Donald Tsang will come through on his promise to target pressing issues such as housing, wealth disparity and aging population in his October address.

Although Tsang has less than a year remaining in his term, he can still plan ahead, knowing that many policy objectives can only be implemented over a long period, she said.

Fan outlined her ideas to the chief executive at a meeting on Monday afternoon, as Tsang kicked off the public consultation for his final policy address.

Fan was joined by a dozen other fellow deputies to the NPC.

Unlike previous years, the consultation exercises for 2011-2012 Policy Address and the 2012-2013 Budget are combined as one this time, in order to facilitate more effective utilization of resources.

Financial Secretary John Tsang and the Head of the Central Policy Unit Lau Siu-kai were also present at the meeting.

After the meeting, Fan said the 12th Five-Year Plan represented a series of successful lobbying efforts to the central government. Now that the proposals from Hong Kong have been part of the national policy, the SAR government should discuss them with stakeholders, with a view to implementing the part of the five-year blueprint that concerns the city.

"I have some expectations about the coming policy address, especially since 2011 is the start of the new five-year plan," she said. "I hope the policy address will provide people with a framework, a direction and let them know there is hope for the future."

She added that she is supportive of resumption of subsidized housing under the Home Ownership Scheme because people have housing needs, but she did not elaborate on the issues about wealth disparity and aging population.

Fan's fellow NPC deputy Tim Lui asked the government to reduce the profits tax and salaries tax, given the city's enormous financial strengths with close to HK$600 billion in fiscal reserves.

Cutting profits tax will enhance Hong Kong's competitive edge, said Lui, who is a partner of the tax firm PricewaterhosueCoopers.

"There is room for profits tax reduction, although the existing tax rate, 16.5 percent, is comparatively low by international standards, and is lower than that in Singapore, 17 percent," he said. "In reducing salaries tax, the government can keep wealth within the people."

In addition, the need for elderly services cannot be more urgent as a result of aging population, he noted, but the service quality of some hostels for the aged is unsatisfactory.

He urged the government to invest more resources to improve the quality of the hostels and monitor them.

On tourism, he suggested creation of more tourist destinations to consolidate the city's position as a tourist paradise.

joseph@chinadailyhk.com

China Daily

(HK Edition 08/02/2011 page1)