Nothing to cheer in Hong Kong as its new financial secretary turns out to be another Scrooge
Alice Wu says Paul Chan’s budget plan of tired ideas only signals the dearth of political talent in the city, particularly as we’re now getting an idea of chief executive hopeful John Tsang’s standing with Beijing
Finance chief Paul Chan unveils aggressive plan to boost Hong Kong’s competitiveness in maiden budget
Tsang himself saw little difference between Chan’s “three objectives to public finance” – to develop the economy and improve people’s livelihood, invest in the future, and share the fruits of success – and what he himself had tried to do during his 9½ years of tenure as financial chief.
To have a new financial secretary is supposed to be a good thing
To have a new financial secretary is supposed to be a good thing. A fresh pair of eyes can inject new ideas, offer new perspectives, and present the public with an alternative way of managing the public purse, even when there are only months left for this administration. But what we heard is the same old song – warnings against spending growth, unsustainability, and the risks of structural deficits; calls for the need for vigilance; and reminders of the virtues of and constitutional necessity for fiscal prudence.
People have been talking about broadening the city’s tax base for almost as long as people have been talking about universal suffrage. The minute widening of the tax band in Chan’s budget is pitiful – so much for “sharing the fruits of success”. We have HK$92 billion of fiscal surplus and there were no surprises in the one-off relief measures.
Why it was ‘unfair’ to expect anything different from Paul Chan’s maiden budget for Hong Kong
