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Letters | Hong Kong government must rid itself of its property addiction
- The tax structure that now allows our tycoons to amass huge profits at the expense of the average Hongkonger struggling to keep up with sky-high housing prices is a scandal. Housing is a basic need, not a means for profiteering
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I refer to the article “A high price for low taxes” (September 23).
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We have the highest taxes in the world, which are collected through sky-high mortgage payments and sky-high rents. The government is not the only “tax” collector here through land sales, stamp duty and government rates. The other “tax collectors” are those who have multiple (fully paid) properties and rent them out or who have been selling them at huge profits. The “taxes” that the latter collect are, however, never going to the common good. And, yes, I have been one of those “tax collectors”.
There is much ado about the tax returns of US President Donald Trump but it would be interesting to also see the personal tax returns of our tycoons. Most of them will likely not pay a single penny as they will be paid in dividends. They will donate money to universities in exchange for having a building named after them so that the whole city can see their “philanthropy”. They should pay their fair share of taxes instead.
Hong Kong must change its tax system and get over its addiction to income through land sales, stamp duty and government rates. If the tycoons do not want to listen, I suggest the one million people who marched at the beginning of the ongoing protests start marching peacefully towards the head offices and the residences of these tycoons instead of destroying the livelihoods of many average Hongkongers.
The following property measures have been proposed before, and should be taken immediately:
- No residential property allowed to be held under a company name. All residential properties that are currently held under a company name should be transferred within six months to a personal name (stamp-duty free).
- Only permanent Hong Kong residents can buy property with a net floor area lower than 2,150 sq ft.
- “Ding” rights will remain in place but the one who is granted the land to build the village house must live in the house itself or the land and house must be turned over to the next person with a ding right. These houses may not be sold on the private market unless a 90 per cent profit tax is paid.
- Each family is allowed to own a maximum of two properties (smaller then 2,150 sq ft).
- Properties a developer can build must be at least 95 per cent single flats/houses that are 2,149 sq ft or less.
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