Hong Kong's 2015 budget lacks detail and vision: CPA Australia

The high budget surplus is a factor.

A group has criticized the 2015 budget of Hong Kong announced by the government, saying it lacks detail and vision.

According to a release from CPA Australia, it expected much more from the budget, given the bigger budget surplus.

“With such a high budget surplus of HK$63.8 billion, we were expecting the Government to provide more support to the business community and the people of Hong Kong. Instead, we have a budget that lacks detail and vision,” said Loretta Shuen, Chairperson of the Taxation Committee, CPA Australia - Greater China, in response to Financial Secretary John Tsang’s 8th budget address.

“While we welcome the Financial Secretary’s acknowledgement to broaden the tax base, he needs to be much bolder and introduce specific policy directives. We have been calling for a comprehensive review of Hong Kong’s tax system since 2012, the government now needs to announce an immediate action plan and timeline.”

Here's more from CPA Australia:

SME Support - “With so much uncertainty over the Eurozone economy, a potential increase in US interest rates and a weak domestic economy, we believe that while the support provided to SMEs in this budget is positive, more should have been done to boost the confidence of Hong Kong’s SME sector.

In view of these unpredictable and external market forces, we believe the Government should be reducing the profits tax rate for SMEs to 13.5 per cent and allowing SMEs to carry back losses for two years.”

Innovation and Technology - “We welcome the government’s proposal to inject $5 billion to the Innovation and Technology Fund to strengthen support for relevant enterprises.

However, we would like to see further tax incentives including introducing a super deduction of 200 per cent in training, R&D, equipment and machineries for a period of two years for environmental and technology start-up companies.

In addition, the Government should consider providing a three-year tax holiday beginning when companies start to generate assessable profits.”

CPA Australia is one of the world's largest accounting bodies with more than 150,000 members globally. It has established a strong membership base of more than 15,000 in the Greater China region.