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Coronavirus: Hong Kong budget debate begins with lawmaker calls for more taxes, fewer construction projects
- Pan-democrat takes aim at controversial Lantau reclamation project, while pro-establishment politician sees value in value-added tax
- City cannot ‘wait for a natural recovery’, lawmaker Starry Lee says as debate over new budget kicks off
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Hong Kong needs to broaden its tax base and scrap costly infrastructure projects as the city faces a ballooning deficit due to the economy’s battering by the Covid-19 pandemic, lawmakers said on Wednesday.
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The remarks came as the Legislative Council kicked off a marathon debate over the government’s budget, tabled as the Appropriation Bill.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s budget, unveiled in a February 26 speech, offered cash handouts, tax breaks and a raft of subsidies in a HK$120 billion coronavirus relief package aimed at easing the financial burden on citizens and injecting new life into the economy.
But with the crisis slow to improve, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor unveiled a follow-up relief package earlier this month – the administration’s largest to date – offering HK$137.5 billion to struggling businesses.
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Chan had warned the pandemic and subsequent relief packages could see the deficit expand beyond his predicted HK$276.6 billion (US$35.7 billion), while the city’s economy could simultaneously contract more than expected.
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