{"id":20213,"date":"2022-01-27T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-27T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/2022\/01\/27\/cpa-australia-calls-for-enhanced-two-tiered-consumption-vouchers-and-quarantine-tax-deduction\/"},"modified":"2022-01-27T05:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-27T05:00:00","slug":"cpa-australia-calls-for-enhanced-two-tiered-consumption-vouchers-and-quarantine-tax-deduction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/2022\/01\/27\/cpa-australia-calls-for-enhanced-two-tiered-consumption-vouchers-and-quarantine-tax-deduction\/","title":{"rendered":"CPA Australia calls for enhanced two-tiered consumption vouchers and quarantine tax deduction"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n<\/p>\n

\n

HONG KONG SAR –\u00a0Media OutReach<\/a>\u00a0–\u00a027 January 2022 –\u00a0Facing a fifth wave
\nof Covid-19, Hong Kong’s near-term economic outlook is increasingly uncertain,
\naccording to one of the world’s largest professional accounting organisations. To
\nboost confidence and protect recent economic gains, CPA Australia recommends
\nthe government offer an enhanced version of
\nthe electronic consumption voucher in the upcoming budget.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

CPA
\nAustralia estimates the Hong Kong SAR Government will record a HKD37.1 billion fiscal
\ndeficit for 2021-22 and fiscal reserves will be HK$ 865 billion.
\nThese estimates take into consideration projected revenue, expenditure
\nand adjustments for the year. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Improving
\nliving standards <\/b><\/p>\n

Mr Anthony Lau, Co-Chairperson
\nof CPA Australia’s Taxation Committee \u2013 Greater China said, “As
\none of the earliest proponents for the distribution of consumption vouchers
\nto support the local economy, we are delighted to see the better-than-expected results
\nof the consumption voucher scheme. Our members tells us the scheme has supported
\nmany businesses through increased customer spending and accelerated digital
\ntransformation.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“This year, we recommend the government
\nconsider offering an enhanced two-tier version of the
\nscheme to help defend the economy from the fifth Covid-19 wave by boosting
\nlocal consumption. Subject to
\naffordability, the base amount could be up to HK$3,000 for all eligible Hong
\nKong residents. The second tier, targeting vulnerable groups such as low-income
\nearners, could receive an additional payment of up to HK$3,000 to
\nalleviate their financial burden. These vouchers will continue to promote the uptake of digital payment technologies in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Further, we recommend that the government consider introducing a one-time
\ntax deduction for quarantine expenses for hotel accommodation with a suggested cap
\nof HK$50,000, as well as introducing a one-time tax deduction for additional
\ncosts incurred by employees in working from home, capped at around
\nHK$8,000.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Other measures could include increasing child allowance to HK$150,000 per
\nchild and expanding the dependent parent allowance and dependent grandparent
\nallowance to include dependent parents and grandparents residing outside of
\nHong Kong.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Increasing
\n<\/b>labour <\/b>supply<\/b><\/p>\n

Mr Janssen Chan, Co-Chairperson of CPA Australia’s Taxation
\nCommittee \u2013 Greater China said, “According to the latest government
\nfigures, monthly average over 100,000 private sector job vacancies were
\nrecorded in the fourth quarter of 2021, representing a surge of nearly a 75 per
\ncent year-on-year. Labour and talent shortages at
\nthis level present a real risk to Hong Kong’s economic
\ngrowth and long-term competitiveness. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“W<\/a>e
\nrecommend the
\ngovernment consider introducing measures to address this issue, such as
\nallowing non-local students to stay longer in Hong Kong. This could be done by extending
\nthe initial 12 months time limitation under the Immigration Arrangements for
\nNon-Local Graduates. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Facing the dual challenges of labour and
\ntalent shortages and an ageing population, the government should encourage more employers
\nto hire or reemploy Hong Kong residents aged 60 and above. To achieve this, we suggest
\nincreasing the maximum amount
\nof on-the-job training allowance for employees aged 60 and over under the Employment Programme
\nfor the Elderly and Middle-aged to HKD8,000. The government should also consider introducing an additional tax deduction on
\nsalaries for companies hiring employees aged 60 and over, with a suggested cap
\nof HK$120,000 per employee per year. We hope the government will invest
\nsufficient resources to address these perennial societal issues.” \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Supporting
\nbusinesses<\/b><\/p>\n

Chan said, “We are pleased that the government acted
\nquickly in response to the fifth Covid wave by announcing further support for
\nhard-hit sectors through the HK$ 3.75 billion fifth round of the Anti-epidemic
\nFund. However, based on experiences in other markets, we expect the negative
\nimpacts on businesses of this wave will last
\nfor several months, especially for SMEs. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Given the uncertain short-term business outlook created by the fifth wave,
\nwe suggest the government consider introducing a series of measures to support
\nSMEs. These include extending the maximum duration of principal moratorium to
\n30 months for the 80 per cent Guarantee Product, 90 per cent Guarantee product
\nand Special 100 per cent Loan Guarantee under the SME Financing Guarantee Loan
\nScheme. The application period for the Special 100 per cent SME Financing
\nGuarantee Loan Scheme should also be extended to the end of 2022. The
\nPre-approved Principal Payment Holiday Scheme should be extended until the end
\nof October 2022.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lau added, “Sixty-seven per cent of surveyed members recently stated they
\nare waiting on the details of the tax concession for family offices before
\ntaking action. We therefore suggest that the government expedite the release of
\nthe tax concessions regime for family offices.” <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tax
\nreform measures<\/b><\/p>\n

Lau said, “Eighty-four per cent of surveyed members
\nbelieve that changes should be made to the Hong Kong tax system as a response to
\nthe city’s inclusion in the European Union’s “Grey List” of non-cooperative tax
\njurisdictions. Further, 39 per cent believe that the proposed global minimum tax regime will be a significant concern
\nto their organisation’s growth objectives.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“With these developments creating uncertainty for businesses, we suggest
\nthe government announce measures to address the city’s inclusion in the “Grey
\nList” and provide details on how they will respond to BEPS 2.0, including
\nclarity on the implementation of a domestic minimum tax. <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“To maintain Hong Kong’s international competitiveness in a changing tax
\nenvironment, we suggest the government commission a comprehensive reform of the
\ntax system. Such a review should focus on the three ‘Cs’ \u2013 certainty, clarity
\nand consistency.”<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HONG KONG SAR –\u00a0Media OutReach\u00a0–\u00a027 January 2022 –\u00a0Facing a fifth wave of Covid-19, Hong Kong’s near-term economic outlook is increasingly uncertain, according to one of the world’s largest professional accounting organisations. To boost confidence and protect recent economic gains, CPA Australia recommends the government offer an enhanced version of the electronic consumption voucher in the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20214,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20213"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20213"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20213\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20214"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}