2024-01-07

各位朋友：

謹為您送上今個星期「司長隨筆」 (https://www.fso.gov.hk/chi/blog/blog20240107.htm)。題目是「財政預算案諮詢」，我希望聽到您的意見。

新一份《財政預算案》的諮詢工作正密集地進行，近日我先後出席了港台節目「眾言堂」，及以中學生為主的「少年財政司」預算案諮詢活動，合共見了近二百位市民和高中生，覆蓋了不同年紀、不同階層和不同背景的市民和年青人，具相當代表性。大家關心的範疇非常廣泛，包括公共財政、經濟發展、社會福利、土地房屋、教育、醫療等，反映著不同市民多元化的關注、觀點、視角、理念和想法，讓我們有更豐富的參考。

連同其他多場的諮詢會，讓我們知道即使大家的背景不同，但有些觀點和關注卻高度契合。第一是政府的財政。不少市民認為，公共財政須以達致收支平衡為目標；第二是必須抓緊時機，全力拼經濟、謀發展，為香港增添新的發展動能；第三是進一步改善民生。

事實上，幾年疫情期間，政府動用了大量資源抗疫防疫之外，公共開支同時急速增長，現時政府的開支必須進入整固期。

我們有決心對公共財政進行整固、節流開源，逐步把政府收支回復平衡。保持公共財政穩健，是確保經濟和社會可持續和穩定發展的其中一個重要關鍵。但這個過程必須兼顧現實情況，在和社會充分溝通下共同努力推動，不能太慢、也不能操之過急，在過程中小心評估社會上不同階層的承受能力，以及不同行業的經營狀況。對於社會上最弱勢的一群，更要確保他們在社會保障制度下獲得適切的支援和基本公共服務。

適當開源、增加政府收入是必須的。然而，我們正處於全力拼經濟、謀發展、吸引企業、匯聚人才的階段，因此開源的考量也需要兼顧實際發展階段的狀況，例如需要保持香港在國際市場的競爭力，繼續吸引企業及投資；保持並鞏固營商信心，不要影響本地經濟復蘇的力度；維持香港簡單低稅制的優勢；以及考慮市民的負擔。

舉例而言，有一些公共服務的收費，長期未有調整；一些在「用者自付」原則下提供的服務，收入遠遠未及收回成本等，也許是時間作出檢視。

長遠而言，增加收入的關鍵在於經濟發展蓬勃。只有推動香港的高質量發展，推動傳統產業升級，並發掘新的經濟增長點，把香港經濟的「蛋糕」做大，讓增長的動能更具韌性，受惠的社會階層更廣泛，才能讓政府的收入來源更充裕、更多元化，以更好支持社會建設和民生服務的需要。

推動香港經濟高質量發展，離不開積極融入國家發展大局，更主動對接國家發展戰略，鞏固和提升香港「八大中心」的發展，並抓緊粵港澳大灣區及共建「一帶一路」倡議的發展機遇。其中：

（一） 就現有的優勢產業，例如金融、貿易和高增值服務業，不斷增強自身的競爭力，尋求新的突破、發展新的增長點、開拓新的市場，以實現更高、更穩健、更可持續的增長。

（二） 加快培育有優勢的新產業，尤其創科，包括引進重點企業、吸引相關的人才，並持續投放資源支持研發，以及把成果商品化、產業化。

我們同時要為香港擴大發展容量作出投資。過去的發展歷程和經驗告訴我們，對長遠發展的規劃必須保持政策制訂和執行的定力。固然，針對短期的市場情況，我們會因時制宜採取合適的應對措施，但建立土地儲備、配套交通基建和穩定房屋供應等工作，不能因短期市況而慢下來、甚至停下來，才能讓政府在有需要時能靈活調撥，回應市場的需要和市民的期望。這關乎到發展可否穩定和持續，也關乎到社會民生能否不斷改善。

誠然，長遠建設必定涉及較長期的投資，透過恰當的融資方案、充分槓桿市場資金，例如在推行個別項目時，與私營機構和長期基金合作，共同投資等，可引導不同的資金共同支持香港的建設。

在《財政預算案》的諮詢期間，我們會繼續虛心聆聽社會各界的意見、密切留意社會經濟的最新變化，以及評估外圍政治和經濟發展的走向，力求新一年的資源規劃，能支持我們化挑戰為機遇、轉險阻為力量，推動香港順勢而上、穩步前行。

順祝
健康愉快

財政司司長
陳茂波

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Dear Friends,

I am pleased to attach my latest blog titled “Budget Consultation” for your perusal (https://www.fso.gov.hk/eng/blog/blog20240107.htm).

The consultation exercise for the upcoming Budget is in full swing.  Recently, I attended the RTHK’s programme “Voices from the Hall”, and a Budget consultation event “Junior Financial Secretaries” targeted mainly at secondary students.  In these consultation sessions, I met with a total of some 200 residents and senior secondary students, who were considerably representative of different age groups, walks of life and backgrounds.  Their interests covered such multifarious areas as public finance, economic development, social welfare, land and housing, education, and healthcare, reflecting the diversified concerns, views, perspectives, visions and ideas of our community.  They have provided us with valuable reference for preparing the Budget.

From these and some other consultation sessions, we have learnt that members of the community do share some common views and concerns despite their different backgrounds.  First, many residents consider that in managing public finances, the Government should seek to achieve a fiscal balance.  Second, we should seize the opportunity to go all out to boost the economy and strive for development, with a view to injecting new growth impetus for Hong Kong.  Third, there is a need to further improve people’s livelihood.

In fact, the Government has deployed substantial resources to combat the pandemic over the past few years.  At the same time, there has been a rapid increase in public expenditure.  Government expenditure must now enter a period of consolidation.

We are determined to consolidate public finances and gradually restore fiscal balance by controlling expenditure and increasing revenue.  Maintaining a healthy fiscal position is one of the keys to ensuring sustainable and steady development of our economy and society.  The process, however, must go hand in hand with reality and with the concerted efforts of the community through ample communication.  It cannot proceed too slowly or too hastily.  During the process, we need to carefully assess the tolerance level of different sectors of society, and the operating conditions of different industries.  For the most vulnerable groups in the community, we must ensure that they receive the necessary support and basic public services under the social security system.

The Government must take appropriate measures to increase revenue.  That said, at a time when we are striving to boost economic development and attract enterprises and talent, we must take the actual circumstances and current development into account when we consider measures to raise government revenue.  For example, we need to maintain Hong Kong’s competitiveness in the international market and continue to attract enterprises and investments; we need to maintain and reinforce business confidence while avoiding impeding the momentum of local economic recovery; and we need to maintain the advantages of our simple and low tax regime and bear in mind the burden of our residents.

For example, some fees and charges for certain public services have not been adjusted for a long time; while income from certain services provided under the “user-pays” principle has been falling far short of cost recovery.  It is, perhaps, time for review.

In the long run, the key to increasing government revenue lies in vibrant economic development.  We must promote high-quality development in Hong Kong and facilitate the upgrading of traditional industries and explore new economic growth potentials, with the aim of growing Hong Kong’s economic pie and building a more resilient growth momentum to bring benefits to different sectors of the community.  It is only through these efforts that we can expand and diversify the sources of government revenue to better serve the needs of social development and public services.

For promoting high-quality development of Hong Kong’s economy, it is essential that we actively integrate ourselves into national development and align with national development strategies.  We must consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s development in the “eight centres”, and seize the opportunities arising from the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Belt and Road Initiative. Here, two points are important:

(1) For the existing industries with clear advantages, such as finance, trade and high value-added services sector, we will continue to enhance our competitiveness, seek new breakthroughs, develop new growth potentials and tap into new markets in order to achieve higher and more robust growth with greater sustainability.

(2) We will step up the development of new industries where we enjoy clear advantages, in particular the innovation and technology, by attracting strategic enterprises and relevant talent, allocating resources to support research and development (R&D), as well as promoting the commercialisation of R&D outcomes and development of industries.

Meanwhile, we also have to invest in the expansion of Hong Kong’s development capacity.  Past experience has suggested that, for long-term development, we must maintain consistency in the formulation and implementation of policies.  Obviously, we will take appropriate measures to respond to the short-term market conditions as the circumstances may require.  Nevertheless, efforts on creating land reserve, building transport infrastructure and maintaining stable housing supply should not be slowed down, let alone stopped, due to short-term market conditions, so as to enable the Government to make flexible deployments to address market needs and public aspirations.  This is pivotal to achieving not only our stable and sustainable development, but also the continuous improvement of people's livelihood.

It is true that long-term infrastructure projects require longer-term investments.  By fomulating appropriate financing arrangements and leveraging market capital, such as investing with private investors and long-term investment funds in individual projects, we can mobilise different sources of funds to jointly support Hong Kong’s development.

During the rest of the Budget consultation period, we will continue to humbly listen to opinions from all sectors of the community, pay close attention to latest changes in the social and economic landscapes, and assess the trends in the external political and economic environment.  We will strive to ensure that our resource planning for the coming year will provide us with the necessary support to embrace challenges as opportunities and turn difficulties into strength, thereby enabling Hong Kong to grasp new opportunities and forge ahead steadily.

Kind regards,

Paul MP Chan
Financial Secretary

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