LegCo passes HK$627-billion Appropriation Bill

HONG KONG - Hong Kong's Legislative Council on Thursday passed a bill on over HK$627 billion of government spending, which include economic relief measures worth around HK$122 billion, in the 2020/21 financial year.

The Appropriation Bill 2020 was passed by a 42-23 vote, and one vote of abstention. All opposition lawmakers voted against it.

All 52 amendments proposed by opposition lawmakers were vetoed. They included cutting salary of the chief executive and senior officials and slashing budget for the police force.

The unprecedented HK$122-billion relief package focuses on supporting businesses, securing employment, boosting the economy and alleviating hardships of the people through cash handouts, subsidies to the low-income groups, generous tax concessions and enterprise support in the difficult time.

The package includes a HK$10,000 cash payout to each adult permanent resident, a concessionary low-interest loan, and 100 percent salaries tax rebate subject to a ceiling of HK$20,000, which would benefit 1.95 million taxpayers.

After the voting, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said that application for the cash handout will commence at the end of June, and most eligible residents will receive the handout in August.

Chan announced the budget, covering government's expenditure from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, in a Feb 26 speech.

Battered by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the protracted social unrest, the city's economy contracted 8.9 percent in the first quarter of 2020 - the steepest quarterly plunge on record. Unemployment rate in the first quarter also soared to a nine-year high of 4.2 percent.

The budget forecasts an all-time high deficit of HK$139.1 billion for 2020/21, owing to the cash handout and other one-off relief measures.