Hong Kong’s finance chief Paul Chan reluctant to review tax regime as society already facing tough times because of geopolitics
- Speaking at the Post’s ‘Redefining Hong Kong: Budget Edition’ event, finance chief Paul Chan says he does not want society to be unduly anxious given pressures facing city
- ‘The geopolitics and the external environment have been difficult. These are the challenges,’ he says
Hong Kong’s finance chief has revealed for the first time that he has been reluctant to review the city’s tax regime despite the huge deficit because of a difficult external environment and geopolitics.
“The geopolitics and the external environment have been difficult. There are also a lot of unfounded allegations … causing a lot of anxiety in our society,” he said.
“It may not be wise at this stage to prematurely discuss something that we don’t think we would be able to implement in a short period of time … Hong Kong is in need of a stable environment. Don’t divert our attention into issues that we’re not going to deal with.”
Addressing an audience of about 150 guests largely from the business sector including executives from multinationals and foreign chambers, Chan said his immediate focus was on restoring confidence both at home and among investors to boost sentiment.