The government decides to withdraw the vacancy tax on first-hand buildings and introduce two bills for franchised taxis

Social News

Written by: Yuan Shu

2020-10-19 20:32

Last update date: 2020-10-19 20:34

The Transport and Housing Bureau announced today (19th) that in response to the latest economic situation, social opinions and the opinions of the relevant Bills Committee earlier, the SAR Government has decided not to promote the levy of additional rates and rates on vacant first-hand private residential units in this legislative year. Introduce the work of franchised taxis, and two related bills will be withdrawn later.

The Rates (Amendment) Bill 2019 aims to implement the proposed levy of additional rates to encourage first-hand private residential units to be launched into the market as soon as possible.

As for the "Franchised Taxi Services Bill", it aims to introduce franchised taxis in response to the new demands of the society for better service quality and personalized point-to-point public transport services with the characteristics of "online booking".

Transport and Housing Bureau: Do not rule out the future launch

A spokesperson for the Transport and Housing Bureau said that in the two meetings of the Bills Committee on the Rating (Amendment) Bill 2019 held in June this year, members expressed bipolar views on the proposal to impose additional rates. There are strong different voices.

In addition, taking into account the latest economic situation, the government made the decision to withdraw the draft after balancing the considerations of all parties.

The Government will continue to monitor the property market closely and make appropriate considerations in the light of the economic situation and the opinions of the community. It does not rule out that it will consider introducing proposals when necessary in the future.

The government pointed out that in light of the economic situation, it is considering not promoting the vacancy tax for the time being.

(Profile picture)

Government: This is not the right time to introduce franchised taxis

The spokesman continued that as for the "Franchised Taxi Services Bill", the earlier opinions of the Bills Committee were quite divergent. There were opinions that the introduction of franchised taxis could promote competition, but many members were worried about the economic downturn. The addition of franchised taxis will further aggravate the operating difficulties faced by the industry.

Taking into account the latest economic situation and the opinions of the Bills Committee earlier, the Government believes that this is not the right time to introduce franchised taxis.

The Government will review the recommendations and future directions of franchised taxis in response to public opinions and related situations, and will continue to maintain close communication and cooperation with the taxi industry to jointly improve the quality of taxi services. 

The Transport and Housing Bureau will withdraw the Rates (Amendment) Bill 2019 and the Franchised Taxi Services Bill in accordance with the relevant Legislative Council Rules of Procedure and has written to the Chairman of the House Committee of the Legislative Council .

The Hong Kong Government intends to shelve the vacant tax on first-hand buildings, Cai Hongxing, CEO of Chinachem

The Transport and Housing Bureau intends to suspend the "vacancy tax" Shi Yongqing points out that the policy is a political posture, and the impact is unlikely

The Transport and Housing Bureau intends to suspend the first-hand building vacancy tax and the franchised taxi legislation to reopen the two disputed bills

The Transport and Housing Bureau considers suspending the review of the first-hand vacancy tax.

The government intends to stop the franchised taxi Xiong Wing Tat’s approval plan because the industry is currently difficult to operate

Franchised taxis "end of life" license issue unresolved

The franchised taxi bill "difficult to give birth" has not been completed in time for deliberation during this session

The Government intends to introduce 600 franchised taxis and the Difficulty Bill Committee recommends that the review work be stopped

01News

Vacant Tax Taxi