Banker and working poor both disappointed by John Tsang's budget

Banker Ricky Leung, a father of two children who earns HK$110,000 per month, says he is disappointed the budget did not 'beef up' its help for middle class families like his

Holidays and posh meals are likely to be off the agenda for father-of-two Ricky Leung, who dismissed the budget as an "absolute disappointment" that had nothing in it for the middle class.

The 38-year-old banker earns HK$110,000 a month but he expects it will get increasingly hard to pay for luxuries after Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah scaled back relief measures.

One of the biggest negatives for him will be property rates on his Tai Kok Tsui flat, which had been waived since 2010. This year homeowners will have to pay rates for two quarters of the year.

Leung said a HK$2,000 increase in the tax allowance for families with a dependent parent or grandparent to HK$40,000 would have a minimal impact even though he would receive the full allowance. Leung, whose children are six months and two years old, would have preferred to see the child tax allowance of HK$70,000 increased.

The electricity subsidy of HK$1,800 per household, the measure Leung said he had most wanted to see retained, was scrapped.

"I'm absolutely disappointed by this budget," said Leung, whose family paid HK$350,000 in taxes in the last financial year.