The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has joined those urging the Government to overcome its budget deficit by broadening the tax base.
Among options the society will submit to Financial Secretary Antony Leung Kam-chung are the introduction of taxes on mobile phones and signboards, and a general consumption tax.
However, ACCA will not seek changes to profits tax, salaries tax, property tax, personal allowances, stamp duty or estate duty.
The Hong Kong Society of Accountants (HKSA) has called on the Government to introduce a land and sea departure tax, which travellers would pay when they leave the SAR by car or ferry. The sentiment was echoed by ACCA.
An HK$18 per trip departure tax would collect more than HK$900 million in revenue a year.
Based on government statistics, ACCA expects this year's budget deficit to be about HK$60 billion, with the figure dropping to less than HK$10 billion next year.
'The mobile phone isn't hard to implement as it is something everyone can afford, I mean - HK$10, most mobile-phone users spend more money than that on long phone conversations,' said Jimmy Chung Wai-kwok, chairman of ACCA's sub-committee on budget and tax.