Top Hong Kong political parties call for spirits tax overhaul ahead of policy address
- DAB and New People’s Party call for changes to spirits tax, saying move will bolster city’s status as hub for selling, auctioning liquor
The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) and the New People’s Party spoke to the media on Wednesday after presenting their suggestions to Lee, which also included more policies to encourage childbirths.
Discussing the proposal to lift the spirits tax, DAB lawmaker Kennedy Wong Ying-ho said: “If we can cancel this spirits tax in a fairly quick amount of time, we will be able to strengthen and elevate Hong Kong as a base for the auction and sale of imported alcohol.
“A lot of international alcohol merchants hope to enter the mainland market, so there will be a lot of alcohol storage, auction and sale.”
Wong said the measure would also encourage companies selling mainland Chinese spirits to use Hong Kong as a platform to sell their products to the rest of the world.
Hong Kong currently has a 100 per cent levy on any liquor with an alcohol strength of more than 30 per cent. The city adopted a zero duty for wines in 2008.
The New People’s Party, meanwhile, suggested authorities reform the tax to be calculated based on the quantity of the spirits, instead of basing it on the value of the goods.