Deputy President, the Government has, on a number of occasions since 2010, taken strong actions to introduce “harsh measures” for the property market to prevent it from further heating up. First, the Special Stamp Duty (“SSD”) was introduced in 2010 to curb short-term speculative activities. This was followed by the introduction of the Buyer’s Stamp Duty (“BSD”) in 2012, which aimed at restricting non-locals and buyers of Hong Kong properties in the name of companies. In 2013, the Government introduced the Double Stamp Duty (“DSD”), under which all non-Hong Kong permanent residents, or those who already held a residential property in Hong Kong, were required to pay DSD for property purchases. In 2016, the Government introduced a new ad valorem stamp duty (AVD) to replace DSD, under which a flat rate of 15% of the property price is payable on the purchase of a second or more properties, irrespective of whether the purchase is made in the name of an individual or a company. 

Of all the stamp duty-related “harsh measures” to the buyers, the Liberal Party supports the introduction of SSD in 2010 to target speculators. Nevertheless, the Liberal Party considers that the “harsh measures” are incongruent with the concept of market economy in Hong Kong. The Liberal Party thus voted against the Third Reading of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2012 in February 2014. We requested the Government to seriously study the impact of this tax and conduct a review annually to determine whether this extraordinary measure should be continued. 

Over the past decade or so, the Liberal Party has objected to the Government’s further tightening of the “harsh measures” because these measures are not conducive to curbing property prices in Hong Kong; but rather, these measures will only achieve the opposite result and affect the people who have genuine housing needs in their home ownership, thus further tipping the balance of the property market in Hong Kong. In expressing our expectations of the Policy Addresses and the Budgets, the Liberal Party has repeatedly requested the Government to expeditiously withdraw the “harsh measures” for the property market.

The Liberal Party thank the Chief Executive for accepting our proposals and reducing the “harsh measures” in this year’s Policy Address, including shortening the applicable period of SSD from three years to two years, reducing the rates of BSD and the New Residential Stamp Duty from 15% to 7.5%, and introducing a stamp duty suspension arrangement for incoming talents’ acquisition of residential properties. 

However, in view of the recent economic slowdown, the persistent weakness in the Hong Kong property market, the significant rise in interest rates, the downward trend of property prices and the sluggish transactions, is it still necessary to curb speculation now? The initial purpose of the “harsh measures” were meant to be an extraordinary means for an extraordinary time, and they should be abolished one day. It is high time to significantly adjust these policies further. The Liberal Party is of the view that the Government should consider whether these “harsh measures” for the property market have lost their significance. We hold that these measures should now be completely withdrawn, so as to allow the property market to return to normal, with a view to stabilizing the property market and enhancing the purchasing power of the public, so as to facilitate economic recovery. 

Deputy President, I am very glad to see that Honourable colleagues from other political parties, who used to support the Government’s “harsh measures” in the past, have almost unanimously requested the Government to withdraw the “harsh measures”. Unless the Government chooses to withdraw the “harsh measures” and shifts away from managing the demand by administrative means, it is unlikely that the transaction volumes in both the property and stock markets will be able to return to normal. Agents engaging in these trades will find it difficult to make money, which will inevitably affect the business of the catering industry, which I represent, and the retail industry, which Mr SHIU Ka-fai represents. 

When the Liberal Party met with the Financial Secretary early this month, we expressed our expectations of the Budget, among which is our hope of having the “harsh measures” gradually reduced as soon as possible. However, based on our recent assessment, we find that even if the “harsh measures” are further reduced by half, the public will still adopt a wait-and-see attitude and will wait until all the “harsh measures” are completely withdrawn before entering the market. Therefore, we hope that the Government will deal with it directly and completely withdraw the “harsh measures” for the property market. In fact, the legislation on the “harsh measures” back then was based on the fact that the supply of housing land could not be made available immediately, so today, which is more than a decade later, the Government should withdraw the “harsh measures”.