Hong Kong Budget, 2024-2025
Hong Kong’s government is cutting off the measures on housing to boost the unpromising market and will provide additional funds to support tourism as part of a plan to revive growth in the financial hub.
Also, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority made a relief move on mortgage rules by allowing some home buyers to purchase properties with smaller down payments.
In another move, the government announced plans to inflate taxes on high resident earners, to bring down the budget deficit.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority said it will suspend a stress test for residential mortgages that required borrowers to attain a certain level of income to cover a potential rise in interest rates.
In addition, it allowed buyers to borrow more to purchase more expensive homes. For example, the maximum loan-to-value ratio for properties worth as much as HK$30 million was changed to 70%. Previously, only homes valued up to HK$15 million were eligible for a 70% LTV ratio.
Until now, non-residents had to pay a combined 15% tax when purchasing properties, while Hong Kong resident buyers who already own a home were subject to a 7.5% levy. Owners who sold their properties within two years of purchase had to pay extra duties. In comparison, the rate for regular home purchases is capped at 4.25%.
The real estate industry had urged Chan to lift the curbs to boost sales and alleviate the worst property slump in more than two decades. High borrowing costs and a weak economic outlook have deterred buyers.
“Abolishing the extra stamp duties for investors and overseas buyers could breathe new life into Hong Kong home sales,” said Patrick Wong, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
After Hong Kong scraps property, the plummeted sector failed to be boosted.
Residential property prices fell to their lowest since 2016, in January.
Still, the impact of the tax cuts is likely to be muted if previous easing measures are any guide. After the government lowered the additional stamp duty on non-local buyers and investors last October, there was only a moderate rise in sales. There was just an increase of 16 home sales tied to such tax between November and January, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
The “surprise announcement” will favour property firms and travel-related shares, according to Sonija Li, an analyst at MIB Securities Hong Kong Ltd. She said the Hong Kong Monetary Authority “may further relax mortgage rules” related to stress testing and mortgage loans.
Any pickup in the housing market would improve Hong Kong’s prospects of generating revenue from land sales, easing pressure on the city’s strained finances. The government decided not to sell any residential or commercial land plots in the first quarter due to weak demand from developers.
A two-tier tax system will be introduced in April, with income of up to HK$5 million taxed at 15%, and anything higher than that being taxed at 16%. The move will affect about 12,000 people or about 0.6% of taxpayers. This will bring in about HK$910 million of additional revenue each year, Chan said.
The Financial Secretary flagged challenges to the economy in the coming year which he said is expected to grow in a range of 2.5% to 3.5% “amid a complicated and ever-changing international environment.”
“More strenuous efforts are required to strengthen the momentum of our economic recovery,” he said, adding that the city sees average gross domestic product growth from 2025 through 2028 at 3.2%.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan sees 2024 GDP to expand 2.5% to 3.5%
Along with the property curbs, wide-ranging measures to support tourism and other events are a key part of the city’s plan to bolster growth. Chan said the Hong Kong Tourism Board will hold pyrotechnic and drone shows along the city’s harbour every month.
The finance chief added that the city is hosting some 80 “mega-events” scheduled in the first half of the year, and pointed to Art Basel and a Saudi-funded LIV Golf Tournament as big international draws. Chan said he would collaborate with mainland cities to promote “multi-destination tourism” in the Greater Bay Area cluster of Hong Kong, Macau and nine mainland Chinese cities.
Hong Kong is heavily reliant on visitors from mainland China, and their spending is key to the health of the local retail and services sectors. 1.2 million mainlanders travelled to the city over the recent Lunar New Year holiday, down slightly compared to the equivalent period in 2019.
Source: Bloomberg
香港2024-25年度財政預算案：政府取消房地產限制並提高最高收入者的稅收
香港政府正在取消住房措施，以提振前景黯淡的市場，並將提供額外資金支持旅遊業，作為重振金融中心成長計畫的一部分。
香港財政司司長陳茂波週三在2024-2025年財政預算案講話中表示，抑制住房需求的措施將立即取消。 他在演講中表示，在當前的經濟和市場條件下，這些政策不再是必要的。演講中還詳細介紹了約10億港元（1.28億美元）的旅遊措施支出，包括煙火表演和舉辦更多大型活動的努力。
此外，香港金融管理局對抵押貸款規則採取了緩解措施，允許一些購房者以較低的首付購買房產。
另一項措施是，政府宣布計劃提高高收入居民的稅收，以降低預算赤字。
香港金融管理局表示，將暫停住宅抵押貸款的壓力測試，該測試要求借款人達到一定的收入水平，以應對潛在的利率上升。
此外，它還允許買家借更多錢來購買更昂貴的房屋。 例如，價值高達3,000萬港元的物業的最高貸款與價值比率改為70%。
此前，只有價值不超過 1,500 萬港元的房屋才有資格獲得 70% 的 LTV 比率。
到目前為止，非居民在購買房產時必須繳納總計 15% 的稅，而已經擁有房屋的香港居民買家則需繳納 7.5% 的稅。 在購買後兩年內出售房產的業主必須繳納額外的關稅。 相比之下，普通購屋利率上限為4.25%。
房地產行業敦促陳解除限制，以促進銷售並緩解二十多年來最嚴重的房地產衰退。 高額借貸成本和疲軟的經濟前景令買家望而卻步。
彭博資訊 (Bloomberg Intelligence) 分析師帕特里克·黃 (Patrick Wong) 表示： “取消投資者和海外買家的額外印花稅可能會給香港房屋銷售帶來新的活力。”
香港廢樓後，暴跌的行業未能提振。
1 月住宅物業價格跌至 2016 年以來的最低點。
不過，如果以先前的寬鬆措施為參考的話，減稅的影響可能會減弱。 去年十月，政府降低了對非本地買家和投資者的額外印花稅後，銷售額僅出現了小幅成長。 仲量聯行 (Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.) 的數據顯示，11 月至 1 月期間，與此類稅收相關的房屋銷售僅增加了 16 套。
MIB Securities Hong Kong Ltd 分析師 Sonija Li 表示，這項「意外公告」將有利於房地產公司和旅遊相關股票。她表示，香港金融管理局「可能會進一步放寬與壓力測試和抵押貸款相關的抵押貸款規則」。
房地產市場的任何回升都將改善香港透過土地銷售產生收入的前景，並緩解該市緊張的財務壓力。 由於開發商需求疲軟，政府決定在第一季不出售任何住宅或商業用地。
4月份將實施兩級稅制，收入不超過500萬港元的收入按15%徵稅，高於500萬港元的收入按16%徵稅。 此舉將影響約12,000人，即約0.6%的納稅人。 陳說，這每年將帶來約9.1億港元的額外收入。
財政司司長指出了來年經濟面臨的挑戰，他表示， “在複雜多變的國際環境下”，預計經濟成長將在 2.5% 至 3.5% 之間。
他說：「需要更加努力增強經濟復甦勢頭。」他補充說，2025年至2028年，該市國內生產毛額平均成長3.2%。
財政司司長陳茂波預計2024年GDP將成長2.5%至3.5%
除了房地產限制之外，支持旅遊業和其他活動的廣泛措施也是該市促進成長計畫的關鍵部分。 陳說，香港旅遊發展局每月都會在香港港口舉辦煙火表演和無人機表演。
這位財務主管補充說，該市計劃在今年上半年舉辦約 80 場“大型活動”，並指出巴塞爾藝術展和沙烏地阿拉伯資助的 LIV 高爾夫錦標賽是國際上最具吸引力的活動。 陳先生表示，他將與內地城市合作，在香港、澳門和中國內地九個城市組成的大灣區集群中推廣「一程多站」旅遊。
香港嚴重依賴中國大陸遊客，他們的消費對於當地零售和服務業的健康發展至關重要。 最近的農曆新年假期，約有 120 萬大陸遊客前往香港，與 2019 年同期相比略有下降。
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