Hong Kong Liberal Party pushes for tax delay for small businesses affected by Occupy protests

A contingent of lawmakers has urged the government to allow businesses whose incomes were affected by the Occupy movement to defer their provisional tax payments by two or three months next year, the Liberal Party said yesterday.

The suggestion was made by three lawmakers from the pro-business party in a meeting with Finance Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah.

Tsang did not give a clear indication as to whether he agreed with the suggestion, but he told the lawmakers he would consider it.

"Tsang said he would give it a thought," said the Liberal Party's newly-elected chairman Felix Chung Kwok-pan.

Tsang is expected to unveil the budget for the coming financial year in February. Over dinner at a banquet on Wednesday, he collected views on the budget from more than 20 pro-establishment lawmakers.

Chung, who represents the textiles and garment sector, said small and medium-sized enterprises in retail, catering and logistics were hit hardest by the Occupy movement, which came to an end on Monday after the final protest encampment in Causeway Bay was cleared. Activists had occupied three sites on city streets to protest against Beijing's restrictive framework for the 2017 chief executive election.