'Good' trumps 'right', says Abraham Razack of property fight
Abraham Razack, the real estate moguls' man in Legco, is gearing up for a battle over the government's market cooling rules
The Legislative Council's summer recess has not necessarily been a time of rest. Some have taken the chance to take sponsored official trips; others have been busy meeting with voters to shore up support; opposition figures have been limbering up for the new term. They have been joined by an unlikely bedfellow.
For real estate tycoons' representative Abraham Razack, it's been a busy summer preparing for a showdown with the government over property cooling measures. He is planning to table two amendments to its stamp duty bills to "plug the loopholes" once the session resumes next month.
It is unusual for a member of the pro-Beijing camp to challenge the government, and the top echelons were apparently alerted. Both Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah have already come out against any amendments that would make the measures "less spicy".
Razack, 68, who has been representing the interests of Hong Kong's property moguls since 2000, says: "I do it for my grandchildren. They, and all Hong Kong people, should be free to choose how they own their flats."
Measures imposed last year to curb speculation mean that all non-permanent residents who buy properties - and all companies - must pay a special tax equal to 15 per cent of a property's price on top of normal stamp duty.
One of the amendments Razack will propose is a tax refund to local corporate buyers after five years if their shareholders remain unchanged for three years.
