LettersHong Kong property rebate U-turn to benefit middle class? Tell me another

Abraham Lincoln famously spoke of “government of the people, by the people, for the people”

However, it is clear from recent policy decisions that the Hong Kong administration is of the rich, by the rich, for the rich

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Chief Executive Carrie Lam at a Legislative Council question-and-answer session. Photo: Sam Tsang

Published: 7:04am, 15 Jan 2019Updated: 7:04am, 15 Jan 2019

The Hong Kong government’s retreat from a proposal to cut rebates offered to owners of multiple properties is extremely disappointing (“Plan to cut rebates for property owners may be dropped, Lam says”, January 10). The government’s attempt to argue that the decision somehow benefits the middle class is ludicrous, and raises serious questions about the competency and awareness of bureaucrats in the administration.

While it is not unreasonable to assume that most so-called middle-class folks own a flat in Hong Kong, it will be interesting to see how many of them own more than one.

Rather than claiming its decision benefits the middle class, the government should have the guts to come clean and tell the public it is backing away from the proposal to benefit the rich – the developers and wealthy landlords – and to continue giving them rebates that cost taxpayers billions in Hong Kong dollars.

Otherwise, how could anyone on the Legislative Council panel even say people who earn rental income from several properties would get hurt if they are not given rebates? What about the pain of the average Hongkonger, whose tax money is being used to pay for these rebates, when they already pay thousands of dollars in rent each month to live in a tiny flat?

The decision sounds all the more crazy given that the administration has recently come up with another unpopular proposal to cut elderly welfare in order to reduce welfare spending. So, on the one hand it is providing relief to people who don’t really need it, and on the other hand it is cutting spending that helps the most deprived sections of the community.