Hong Kong’s budget to see HK$20b in sweeteners for the public

Hong Kong people will get HK$20b worth of sweeteners

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah uses his budget later this month to put cash into people's pockets and stimulate consumption to counter global economic uncertainty. One-off measures will again include a salaries tax rebate, capped at about HK$10,000, and a waiver on property rates, people familiar with the situation said. Permanent measures will include increasing the tax allowance for parents from HK$70,000 to HK$80,000 per child - the second increase in three years.

The giveaways come a year after Tsang cut sweeteners and warned of further belt-tightening amid projections from a committee of experts that pressure from the city's ageing population would turn healthy government surpluses into a structural deficit in as little as seven years (Source: SCMP).