kakase/hk_gov_press_release huggingface dataset:
LCQ19: Settling government bills
18.12.2019

Following is a question by the Hon Alvin Yeung and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, in the Legislative Council today (December 18): Question: At present, the Government provides a number of payment channels for members of the public to settle government bills. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (1) whether the operators of the various payment channels have charged the Government for any transaction fees; if so, of the methods for calculating such fees (e.g. calculated on a yearly or a per-transaction basis) and the levels of such fees (e.g. a flat fee or a certain percentage of the transaction amount), and set out the relevant information according to the payment channels as set out in the table below; and Payment channel (if there is more than one operator in respect of the same payment channel, and the various operators have put in place different arrangements, please set them out one by one) Method for calculating fees Level of fees PPS Faster Payment System Internet banking Phone banking e-Cheque Convenience store Others (please specify) (2) of the public expenditure incurred by the Government in each of the past five years for the provision of online payment services? Reply: President, My reply to the two parts of the question is as follows: (1) The Government currently provides various payment channels for members of the public to settle government bills. Transaction fees are paid to the operators according to the contracts. The relevant payment channels and methods for calculating the transaction fees are as follows: Payment channel Method for calculating transaction fees PPS Fixed fee per transaction Faster Payment System Internet banking (including credit card, bank transfer etc.) Phone banking Convenience store Others (Autopay, automatic teller machine, Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment service, post office and postal remittance) Information of the transaction fee level of individual payment channels above are commercially sensitive and hence could not be provided. Overall speaking, the average expenditure incurred by the Government for each transaction settled through the payment channels above is around $3. e-Cheques are collected through the "Pay e-Cheque" portal operated by the Government. No transaction fee to the operator is involved. (2) The expenditure incurred by the Government in each of the past five years for the provision of electronic payment services through the payment channels mentioned above is as follows: Financial year $ (Million) 2014-15 17.4 2015-16 17.9 2016-17 18.8 2017-18 21.8 2018-19 22.0
Government welcomes passage of tax concessions bill
6.11.2019

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, welcomed the passage of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Tax Concessions) Bill 2019 by the Legislative Council today (November 6). The new Ordinance gives effect to the tax concessions proposed by the Government in 2019, i.e. reducing salaries tax, tax under personal assessment and profits tax for the year of assessment 2018/19 by 100 per cent, subject to a ceiling of $20,000 per case. Mr Lau said, "The concessionary measure helps relieve the tax burden of taxpayers. The Inland Revenue Department will reflect the tax reductions in the tax demand notes to be issued." Application is not required for the tax reductions, which will be reflected in the taxpayers' final tax payable for the year of assessment 2018/19. The measure will benefit 1.91 million taxpayers of salaries tax and tax under personal assessment, and 145 000 tax-paying corporations and unincorporated businesses. Government revenue in 2019-20 will be reduced by $20.7 billion accordingly. Mr Lau added that the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) provides for a holding over arrangement of provisional tax. Taxpayers anticipating a decrease of more than 10 per cent in their net chargeable income or assessable profits for current year of assessment may apply to the IRD for a holding over of the whole or part of the provisional tax under the Inland Revenue Ordinance. The holding over arrangement applies to provisional salaries tax, profits tax and property tax. It is convenient to apply for holding over of provisional tax. In respect of profits tax, applicants normally have to submit draft accounts covering a period of not less than eight months only as supporting documents. For salaries tax, applicants have to state the estimated income with reason for the reduction of income (such as reduction of salary or unemployment) only. Applications for holding over of provisional tax should be made in writing not later than 28 days before the due date for payment of the provisional tax, or 14 days after the date of issue of the notice for payment of the provisional tax (whichever is later), through eTax, by postage or by fax. In most cases, the IRD will inform taxpayers of the application results within 12 working days upon receipt of applications and necessary information. Details can be found at the relevant webpage ( www.gov.hk/en/residents/taxes/taxfiling/object/provisional.htm ) or call 187 8011 for any enquiries.
LCQ16: Statistics on employees' salaries
6.11.2019

Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Wai-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, in the Legislative Council today (November 6): Question: Regarding each and all of the selected industry sections listed in the table below, will the Government inform this Council of the following information on middle-level managerial and professional employees in each year of 2017 and 2018: (i) the Nominal Salary Index (A), (ii) the Real Salary Index (A), (iii) the Nominal Salary Index (B), (iv) the Real Salary Index (B), and (v) the number of employed persons (using the first quarter of 2004 as the base period)? Selected industry section 2017 2018 Manufacturing, electricity and gas supply (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Building and construction and related trades (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Import/export, wholesale and retail trades (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Transportation, storage, communications and travel agencies (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Financing and insurance (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) All selected industry sections (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Reply: President, Our response to various parts of the question is provided below: (1) The nominal salary indices (A), real salary indices (A), nominal salary indices (B), real salary indices (B), and number of employed persons for middle-level managerial and professional employees in each and all of the selected industry sections in Hong Kong from 2017 to 2018 are set out in Annex 1. (2) The nominal indices of payroll per person engaged, real indices of payroll per person engaged, and number of employed persons in each and all of the selected industry sections from 2017 to 2018 are set out in Annex 2.
LCQ14: Statistics on employment, wages and gross domestic product
6.11.2019

Following is a question by the Hon Wong Kwok-kin and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, in the Legislative Council today (November 6): Question: Will the Government provide the following statistics for 2017 and 2018 respectively (adopting the first quarter of 2004 as the base period, i.e. first quarter of 2004=100): (1) for various industries and occupations, (i) the numbers of employed persons, (ii) the Nominal Wage Indices, (iii) the Real Wage Indices, (iv) the Nominal Indices of Payroll per Person Engaged and (v) the Real Indices of Payroll per Person Engaged, broken down by gender; and (2) (i) the Nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP), (ii) the Real GDP and (iii) the growth rates of such figures? Reply: President, Our response to various parts of the question is provided below: (1) The number of employed persons (excluding foreign domestic helpers) by gender for various industries and occupations in Hong Kong in 2017 and 2018 is set out in Annex 1, whereas the nominal and real wage indices for selected industries and selected occupational groups and the nominal and real indices of payroll per person engaged for selected industries during the same period are set out in Annex 2 and Annex 3 respectively. The Government has neither compiled wage indices broken down by gender nor indices of payroll per person engaged broken down by gender and occupation. (2) Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current market prices (i.e. in nominal terms) and in chained (2017) dollars (i.e. in real terms) in 2017 and 2018 respectively as compared to 2004 are as follows : 2017 2018 GDP in nominal terms (HK$) 2,662.8 billion 2,842.9 billion Compared with 2004 +102.2% +115.9% GDP in real terms (HK$) 2,662.8 billion 2,742.8 billion Compared with 2004 +59.7% +64.5%
Launch of Government Bill Payment Service through FPS
1.11.2019

The Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau announced that in order to bring greater convenience to the public, the Government will accept payments of taxes, rates and Government rent, and water charges through the Faster Payment System (FPS) starting today (November 1). Bills issued by the Inland Revenue Department, the Rating and Valuation Department and the Water Supplies Department on or after November 1 will be printed with FPS QR codes. For making payments, members of the public can simply scan the FPS QR codes printed on the relevant government bills using supporting mobile applications of the banks or stored value facilities (SVFs). To date, 16 banks (including most retail banks) and five SVFs have joined the scheme to support this service. One more SVF is now enhancing its mobile application and will join the scheme at a later stage. The list of FPS participants that support government bill payments through the FPS is in the Annex. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, said, "The use of the FPS for settling government bills is one of the initiatives in the 2019-20 Budget. This service will provide the public with an additional convenient means to pay government bills, and also help promote the wider application of fintech in Hong Kong. "Depending on the public response, the Government will consider extending the service to other government departments," Mr Lau added. The Senior Executive Director of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Mr Edmond Lau, also said, "We welcome the adoption of the FPS by the Government in accepting payments of taxes, rates and Government rent, and water charges. We believe that this can help promote the use of the FPS in retail payments. Looking ahead, we will continue to work with other government departments and the payment industry to explore use cases in other areas in order to promote the development of electronic payment and fintech in Hong Kong." The FPS was launched in September 2018. As at September this year, the FPS has recorded about 3.5 million registrations. In the month of September, the FPS processed about four million transactions, involving a total of HK$58 billion and RMB 1 billion, more than double the first month of the launch.
Government welcomes HKQAA's Green Finance Certification Scheme - Green Fund
25.9.2019

The Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency (HKQAA) today (September 25) announced the launch of its Green Finance Certification Scheme &ndash; Green Fund to provide third-party conformity assessments on green funds, encourage more investors from the fund market to support green projects and enhance the transparency of the investment process. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, said, "We welcome the HKQAA's launch of its Green Finance Certification Scheme &ndash; Green Fund, which has been developed with reference to a number of pertinent international and national standards. Following the successful implementation of the certification scheme for green debt instruments last year, the extension to green fund will further strengthen market confidence in green financial products, in line with our ongoing commitment to develop Hong Kong as a leading hub for green finance in the region. "Much encouraged by an increasing number of funds with an investment focus on climate, green, environmental or sustainable development in Hong Kong in recent years, we will continue to support the certification scheme and encourage more local, Mainland and overseas entities to make use of it and our capital markets for financing their green projects."
SFST promotes Hong Kong's Fintech development in Sweden (with photos)
25.9.2019

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, continued his visit to Stockholm, Sweden, yesterday (September 24, Stockholm time) to promote Hong Kong's financial technology (Fintech) development. Mr Lau started the day by visiting FundedByMe, a crowdfunding platform active in Scandinavia with joint ventures in Europe and South East Asia, to understand its operation in helping startups and small and medium sized businesses raise capital from family, friends, angel investors and crowds. He later met with key personnel of the Swedish Fintech Association and its member companies to exchange views on Fintech trends and infrastructure support for Fintech development in both places. Mr Lau then attended a business luncheon co-organised by the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Sweden and the Association of Swedish Engineering Industries. Addressing the business leaders, Mr Lau stressed that notwithstanding the external and internal headwinds, Hong Kong's financial system has remained as robust and resilient as before. He also gave an account of the social incidents Hong Kong had been undergoing in the past few months, saying that Hong Kong people have a long tradition of peaceful and rational protests, and we reject the use of violence to resolve the current challenges. Hong Kong is resolutely committed to "one country, two systems", as enshrined in the Basic Law which provides the constitutional guarantee for the continued development and success of Hong Kong as a free society and a vibrant and dynamic economy, he added. In the afternoon, Mr Lau met with the Governor of Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden), Mr Stefan Ingves. He took the opportunity to brief him on the latest developments in Hong Kong, highlighting the robustness of Hong Kong's financial stability in face of the challenges. They also exchanged views on the need for central bank digital currencies in light of the advances in Fintech and mobile payments. Mr Lau departed for Estonia in the evening. He will sign a comprehensive agreement for avoidance of double taxation with the Minister of Finance of Estonia, Mr Martin Helme, and meet with representatives of the business and Fintech sectors in Tallinn today (September 25, Tallinn time).
SFST starts visit to Sweden to promote financial collaboration (with photos)
24.9.2019

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, started his visit to Stockholm, Sweden yesterday (September 23, Stockholm time) to strengthen financial ties with Sweden. Mr Lau first met with the Minister for Financial Markets and Housing and Deputy Minister for Finance of Sweden, Mr Per Bolund, in the morning. They exchanged views on issues of mutual concern including green finance and financial technology (Fintech) developments on both sides. Noting that the Swedish government planned to issue green bonds in 2020 to fund budget expenditure on sustainable investments and projects, Mr Lau shared Hong Kong's experience in issuing government green bond and looked forward to future collaboration with Sweden to promote the development of green finance. Understanding the wide adoption of Fintech applications in Sweden, Mr Lau briefly introduced what Hong Kong had been doing to enhance Fintech application and customer experience in the territory, including the implementation of Faster Payment System and the operation of virtual banks which would be up and coming. Mr Lau also took the opportunity to give an update on Hong Kong's latest situation and measures taken to address current challenges. He highlighted the government's determination to achieve a peaceful resolution and that despite recent disruptions, Hong Kong continues to operate efficiently and remains a safe and welcoming place for people and businesses from around the globe. Mr Lau then visited MTR Nordic AB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the MTR Corporation Limited in Sweden, to keep abreast of its operation of metro and commuter rail services in Sweden and beyond in other Nordic countries. In the afternoon, Mr Lau met with representatives from Business Sweden and several Fintech companies interested in the Hong Kong market. Learning that Business Sweden is an organisation commissioned by the Swedish government and the local industry to help Swedish companies grow global sales, Mr Lau welcomed Swedish companies to expand their businesses to Hong Kong to tap the vast opportunities here and beyond also in Mainland China. In particular, Mr Lau shared his views on the vibrant Fintech ecosystem in Hong Kong and extended invitation to the Swedish Fintech companies for their participation in Hong Kong's FinTech Week scheduled for November this year. Next, Mr Lau visited Findec, a business organisation which targets Fintech businesses in areas such as Regtech, Insurtech and blockchain. Mr Lau exchanged views with the attending companies on the development of various Fintech applications in relation to trade finance, cross border payment and personal finance. In the evening, Mr Lau called on the Chinese Ambassador to Sweden, Mr Gui Congyou, where he updated him on Hong Kong's latest developments. Mr Lau will continue his visit to Stockholm today (September 24, Stockholm time).
SFST to visit Sweden and Estonia to promote Hong Kong's financial services and Fintech development
20.9.2019

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, will depart Hong Kong on Sunday (September 22) for a three-day visit to Stockholm in Sweden and Tallinn in Estonia to promote Hong Kong's role as a financial technology (Fintech) hub and to foster closer ties with the two places. He will also sign a comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreement (CDTA) with the Minister of Finance of Estonia, Mr Martin Helme, in Tallinn. While in Stockholm on September 23 and 24, Mr Lau will meet with the Minister for Financial Markets and Housing and Deputy Minister for Finance of Sweden, Mr Per Bolund, as well as the Governor of Sveriges Riksbank (Central Bank of Sweden), Mr Stefan Ingves. He will also have separate meetings with senior executives of leading Fintech companies, visit operations run by MTR Nordic AB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the MTR Corporation Limited, and speak to key business leaders at a luncheon co-organised by the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in Sweden and the Association of Swedish Engineering Industries. In Tallinn on September 25, apart from signing the CDTA with Estonia, Mr Lau will also attend a roundtable discussion on Fintech development and meet with the President and board members of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce. Mr Lau will return to Hong Kong in the afternoon on September 26. During his absence, the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, will act as Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury.
Hong Kong and Cambodia enter into tax pact
26.6.2019

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, signed a comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreement (CDTA) with Cambodia today (June 26), promoting further bilateral investment and trade between the two jurisdictions. This CDTA is the 41st agreement that Hong Kong has concluded. It sets out the allocation of taxing rights between the two jurisdictions and will help investors better assess their potential tax liabilities from cross-border economic activities. Mr Lau said, "Cambodia was Hong Kong's 38th largest trading partner in 2018. We have all along treasured our economic and trade ties with Cambodia and I have every confidence that this agreement will encourage more bilateral investments and bring our co-operation to a new level." Under the Hong Kong-Cambodia CDTA, double taxation will be avoided in that any tax paid in Cambodia by Hong Kong companies in accordance with the CDTA will be allowed as a credit against the tax payable in Hong Kong on the same income, subject to the provisions of the tax laws of Hong Kong. Likewise, for Cambodian companies, the tax paid in Hong Kong will be allowed as a deduction from the tax payable on the same income in Cambodia. Moreover, the Hong Kong-Cambodia CDTA also provides the following tax relief arrangements: (a) Cambodia's withholding tax rates for Hong Kong residents on dividends, interest, royalties and fees for technical services will be reduced from the current level of 14 per cent to 10 per cent; (b) Hong Kong airlines operating flights to and from Cambodia will be taxed at Hong Kong's corporation tax rate, and will not be subjected to tax on income in Cambodia; and (c) Hong Kong residents deriving profits from international shipping transport in Cambodia will enjoy 50 per cent reduction in tax on income in Cambodia in respect of the profits subject to tax there. The Hong Kong-Cambodia CDTA has also incorporated an article on exchange of information, which enables Hong Kong to fulfil its international obligations on enhancing tax transparency and combating tax evasion. This CDTA will come into force after the completion of ratification procedures by both jurisdictions. In the case of Hong Kong, it will be implemented by way of an order to be made by the Chief Executive in Council under the Inland Revenue Ordinance. The order is subject to negative vetting by the Legislative Council. Details of the Hong Kong-Cambodia CDTA are available on the website of the Inland Revenue Department ( www.ird.gov.hk/eng/pdf/Agreement_Cambodia_HongKong.pdf ). Hong Kong will continue to negotiate with trading and investment partners with a view to expanding its CDTA network.
SFST visits Wan Chai District (with photos)
20.5.2019

The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr James Lau, visited Wan Chai District this afternoon (May 20). Mr Lau first met with the Chairman of the Wan Chai District Council (WCDC), Mr Stephen Ng; the Vice-chairman of the WCDC, Dr Jennifer Chow; and other WCDC members to exchange views on issues of concern, including the impact of the trade conflict between China and the United States and taxation matters in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He then visited the Secondary Section of Rosaryhill School, where he was briefed by the principal on the teaching and learning at the school. He also chatted with a group of students, including ethnic minority students, and watched their performance. Mr Lau said he appreciated their efforts to participate in extra-curricular activities to develop personal interests while pursuing academic goals at the same time. Before concluding his visit, Mr Lau proceeded to the Methodist Rejoice Centre to tour its facilities and chat with some elderly people there. He said he was pleased to learn that the centre provides various services to enrich and improve elderly life. The Methodist Rejoice Centre is a community care centre offering day care and home care services, including cognitive training, rehabilitative therapy, social and recreational activities, and home support and meal services. It also provides professional training and support services to help carers better take care of the elderly.