Fiscal prudence is vital if Hong Kong is to fund the Northern Metropolis and other costly development plans in an uncertain geopolitical climate
Article 107 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law requires the government to “follow the principle of keeping the expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget, and strive to achieve a fiscal balance”.
Fiscal pressures were intensified by the package of initiatives for underprivileged groups announced in January 2020 by then chief executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor. Measures such as more generous old-age allowances and lowering the qualifying age for transport concessions to 60 are estimated to have added at least HK$100 billion annually to public expenditure, increasing the government’s long-term fiscal burden.
Record surplus prompts Hong Kong government to offer tax relief, sweeteners
Source: News - South China Morning Post
