customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

summary

updatedDate

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Harvey Kong

Two of Hong Kong’s major political parties have called for Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu to either lift or adjust the spirits tax, as part of proposals submitted ahead of the city leader’s policy address in October.
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and the New People’s Party spoke to the media on Wednesday after presenting their suggestions to Lee, which also included more policies to encourage childbirths.
Discussing the proposal to lift the spirits tax, DAB lawmaker Kennedy Wong Ying-ho said: “If we can cancel this spirits tax in a fairly quick amount of time, we will be able to strengthen and elevate Hong Kong as a base for the auction and sale of imported alcohol.
“A lot of international alcohol merchants hope to enter the mainland market, so there will be a lot of alcohol storage, auction and sale.”
Wong said the measure would also encourage companies selling mainland Chinese spirits to use Hong Kong as a platform to sell their products to the rest of the world.
Hong Kong currently has a 100 per cent levy on any liquor with an alcohol strength of more than 30 per cent. The city adopted a zero duty for wines in 2008.
The New People’s Party, meanwhile, suggested authorities reform the tax to be calculated based on the quantity of the spirits, instead of basing it on the value of the goods.
“Since we cancelled the wine tax in 2008, Hong Kong has become one of the leading centres in the world for the auctioning and trading of wine,” lawmaker Dominic Lee Tsz-king said.
“We think if we adjust our spirits tax, we will have the same effect and it will allow Hong Kong to become an international auction and trading centre for spirits.”
The parties brushed aside concerns that altering the policy could increase the public’s level of alcohol consumption, with Lee saying any such move would comply with government efforts to boost the nightlife economy and the tourism trade.
The suggestions were shared with city leader Lee after he announced the start of the consultation period for his next policy address, expected to take place in October.
Meanwhile, both parties also urged authorities to boost reproductive health services as part of the proposals submitted to the chief executive.
The New People’s Party suggested raising the maximum storage period for eggs, sperm and embryos from 10 years to 55 years, while the DAB called for the time window to be expanded to 30 years for eggs.

City leader Lee previously introduced a raft of measures to help boost Hong Kong’s flagging birth rate amid a rapidly ageing population, including a HK$20,000 (US$2,500) handout for each child born since October 25 of last year and offering families with newborns faster access to public housing.
Authorities also set a target to boost the number of babies born annually by an average of 20 per cent over the next three years.
Hong Kong saw the average number of children born per woman fall from 1.3 in 2017 to just 0.9 last year, with only about 32,000 babies born in 2023.


Hong Kong security chief slams Wall Street Journal for ‘fact-twisting’ opinion piece

Hong Kong social worker body removes committee member accused of rioting in 2019

Official report into University of Hong Kong rift aims to put school interests first

No diminishing of British, Allied wartime roles, Hong Kong museum officials say amid revamp

Hong Kong politics

Top Hong Kong political parties call for spirits tax overhaul ahead of policy address

Hong Kong currently has a 100 per cent levy on any liquor with an alcohol strength of more than 30 per cent. Photo: Sam Tsang

The two political parties have also proposed measures to help boost the city’s birth rate. Photo: Sam Tsang

Hong Kong shisha bars warn proposed ban on flavoured cigarettes will cripple businesses

Smokers enjoy shisha on Knutsford Terrace in Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Jonathan Wong

The University of Hong Kong in 2020 found that 23.8 per cent of 1,288 university students it polled had tried the smoking shisha already. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Business magnate Allan Zeman says the ban will have a limited impact on bars. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Hong Kong clinics log 25% rise in smokers seeking help to quit since 2022 tax hike

The government has said it plans to pass 10 short-term measures before the end of next year to further decrease the city’s smoking rate. Photo: Jelly Tse

News

Hong Kong

Politics

DAB and New People’s Party call for changes to spirits tax, saying move will bolster city’s status as hub for selling, auctioning liquor


DAB and New People’s Party call for changes to spirits tax, saying move will bolster city’s status as hub for selling, auctioning liquor.
