The Government’s two-tier tax proposal is straightforward and will not complicate Hong Kong's current tax system.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan made the statement to the media after attending a radio programme today, saying the Government found the proposal workable after studying several schemes.
"Under the proposed arrangement, the first $2 million of business profits will be subject to a tax rate of 10%, and the remainder profit will continue to be taxed at 16.5%, so in itself it is not really a very complicated tax provision."
Mr Chan said implementing the plan requires amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance.
"So subject to the announcement by the Chief Executive at an appropriate time, we will bring the proposed legislation to the Legislative Council for scrutiny."
Asked about the warning he issued in his blog post yesterday against the so-called "cheaters' stocks", Mr Chan said: "I just want to reiterate the Government's determination to ensure the quality of our capital market and also to explain to the public the action taken by the Securities & Futures Commission in the past few months has the full backing of the Government, because it is important to ensure the quality of our market."
On property cooling measures, Mr Chan said they will stay and there will be an increase in the supply of residential flats in the next few years.
