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Following is a question by the Hon Ronny Tong Ka-wah, and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (April 17):
Question:
It has been reported that the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office (HKMAO) of the State Council disclosed earlier that the Chief Executive (CE) had informed him by telephone of the Government's decision to introduce Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) on the eve of its announcement on October 26 last year. In response to the reports, CE said that the purpose of his call was to "inform" rather than "asking for instructions" from HKMAO, since BSD targeted on non-local buyers and it was necessary to undertake both "internal diplomacy" and "external diplomacy". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the criteria based on which the decision to notify HKMAO in advance was made; why HKMAO and not the Ministry of Commerce was notified;
(b) whether the Government has put in place a set of security measures to ensure that information on market-sensitive policies will not be divulged prior to their announcement by the authorities; if it has, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that;
(c) whether it has assessed if the notification of HKMAO in advance has violated the confidentiality principle of the Executive Council (ExCo); if the assessment result is in the affirmative, whether any punishment has been imposed; if the assessment result is in the negative, of the justifications for that, and whether ExCo Members are no longer required to comply with the confidentiality requirements; if they are no longer required to do so, of the reasons for that; if they are required to do so, how it assures that ExCo Members comply with the relevant requirements;
(d) whether it had adopted measures to ensure that relevant information concerning the introduction of BSD would not be divulged by officials of HKMAO or other mainland authorities prior to the announcement of such information; if it had, of the details of the measures; if not, the reasons for that;
(e) given that foreign investors are equally affected by BSD, whether the Government had informed international investors or officers of the consulates in Hong Kong prior to the implementation of BSD; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and the criteria and reasons based on which the authorities decided not to notify officers of the consulates in Hong Kong in advance, and whether one of the reasons was that it was unnecessary to "undertake external diplomacy";
(f) whether the Government has put in place a set of criteria for deciding whether it is necessary to notify certain organisations in advance prior to the introduction of new policies; if it has, of the criteria; and
(g) whether the Government of the current term has, since its inauguration, informed officials of HKMAO or other mainland authorities of its confidential new policies prior to their announcement, apart from the introduction of BSD; if it has, set out the details in table form; if not, of the reasons for that; whether the aforesaid practice of notifying HKMAO in advance will become a precedent; whether the authorities will undertake not to notify HKMAO in advance prior to the announcement of confidential new policies in future in order to realise the principles of "One Country, Two Systems" and "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong"?
Reply:
President,
The objective of the Buyer's Stamp Duty (BSD) is to accord priority to addressing the home ownership needs of Hong Kong permanent residents (HKPRs) in the midst of the exuberant property market and tight supply situation by subjecting all non-HKPRs to the new duty when they acquire a residential property in Hong Kong. The BSD was studied and formulated by Government officials, and only relevant senior officials were involved in the discussion. The measure was announced on October 26, 2012 after the Executive Council (ExCo) had examined and approved the matter.
The ExCo adopted the established rules on confidentiality in the discussion on the subject matter, by which all Members and those who attend the meeting are bound. All individual ExCo Members declared interests in accordance with the established system of declaration of interests and withdrew from the discussion (if necessary).
As the BSD is levied on non-HKPR buyers, the Government has briefed representatives from the Consulates General of overseas countries in Hong Kong and, through the Economic and Trade Offices in the Mainland and overseas, ensured that overseas investors were also given relevant information. The Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council was informed of the measure.
Ends/Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Issued at HKT 12:25
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