Government targets creating fiscal reserve

Funds being set aside for healthcare and alleviating poverty.

Financial Services & the Treasury Secretary Prof KC Chan said this fiscal reserve created by higher-than-expected revenues will create savings to prepare for critical issues such as alleviating poverty and care for the elderly. He said the higher revenues were due to increases in land premium revenue and revenue from earnings and profits.

Prof. Chan said scholars and experts will be invited to join a working group headed by his bureau’s Treasury Branch to determine a comprehensive plan for the city’s public finances to cope with the ageing population and other long-term commitments. He stressed the working group will only look at data in order to make recommendations not related to tax reform.

He said the public has high hopes for the first budget of the new government, which cannot meet all expectations for resolving long-standing problems.

Replying to criticism the budget is too conservative, Prof. Chan said it is pragmatic and strikes a balance between expenditures and income. He noted the increase in operating expenditure is not a small number, and the injection of $15 billion into the Community Care Fund has given low-income families a helping hand.