Public Finance

Question 1

What is public finance?

Answer 1

Public finance refers to the government’s financial revenue and expenditure.

Question 2

The formulation of public finance in Hong Kong.

Answer 2

1. The Financial secretary is in charge of making relevant decision-making bureaux under his or her supervision
2. The Financial secretary shall submit a budget to the Legislative Council every year.

Question 3

Major items of government revenue

Answer 3

Tax revenue

Question 4

Tax revenue

Answer 4

The independent taxation system shall take low tax policy previously pursued in Hong Kong as reference.

Question 5

What are the direct taxes and explain?

Answer 5

Salaries tax - It is charged according to one’s income from employment.
Profits tax - It is charged in accordance with the profit of a company’s business.
Property tax - It is charged in accordance with the rental income derived from the property.

Question 6

What are the indirect taxes and explain

Answer 6

Rates and government rent- This is the fee that has to be paid by those who own premises.
Stamp duty- It is charged on the transfer and stock trading
Betting duty - It is charged on the revenue derived from Mark Six lottery horse racing and football betting
Duties - It is charged on certain commodities, such as alcohol, tobacco, etc