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Hong Kong property
Business

Hong Kong developers urge government to defer roll out of vacancy tax as they fear it will intensify market slowdown

  • The introduction of the vacancy tax at the moment certainly will add fuel to the fire, the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong said on Friday
  • Home prices have fallen since June after rising for the first five months of the year

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A general view of residential and commercial buildings in the Kowloon district (foreground) with the skyline of Hong Kong Island in the distance. Photo: AFP
Sandy Li

Hong Kong developers have urged the government to consider a temporary suspension of the proposed vacancy tax, as they fear it would intensify the slowdown in the property market already reeling from the US-China trade war and social turmoil.

“The introduction of the vacancy tax at the moment certainly will add fuel to the fire,” the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong (Reda) said on Friday.

“The Hong Kong government forecast shows that the city’s economy is undergoing adjustment. If the adjustment comes fast and sharp, it could trigger a domino effect on the economy … it will hurt the stability of the financial system,” Reda said.

The Hong Kong government said on Thursday that it would submit the The Rating (Amendment) Bill, better known as the vacancy tax bill, for vetting by lawmakers when they return to work in October after their summer break, with public consultation starting from Friday.

Also on Thursday, Beijing’s mouthpiece People’s Daily published a commentary urging the Hong Kong government to seize land being hoarded by the city’s big developers. It said housing was an “important root cause” of young people taking to the streets in the anti-government protests that have rocked the city for months.
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