The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, today presented a budget proposal for 2020, suggesting continuation of, respectively, a number of tax relief measures, subsidies for disadvantaged groups, the Wealth Partaking Scheme, and the health voucher scheme.
Mr Chui disclosed the information in the budget proposal for 2020 during a plenary meeting at the Legislative Assembly.
The recommendations regarding next year’s budget proposal were formed after discussion with, and agreement from, Mr Chui’s successor, the fifth-term Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng. Mr Chui noted the actual budget proposal for 2020 would be presented by the next Government team, which will take office on 20 December. The incumbent Government team made its budget recommendation – in line with the Basic Law and the Budget Framework Law – with a view to ensuring the city’s stability and the normal operation of public departments.
In the proposal, the Government suggested continuing with existing tax-reduction and -exemption measures. The Government would continue implementing the 30 percent exemption of personal income tax applicable to all Macao residents – with the basic allowance set at 144,000 patacas – and continue the 60 percent rebate of personal income tax payable by each Macao resident for the current year, subject to a ceiling of 14,000 patacas. The personal income tax allowance for employees over 65 years and for eligible employees with disabilities is set at 198,000 patacas. Under the proposal, the tax rebates would be disbursed in 2021.
The Government would continue implementing tax cuts and waivers, including waivers of all business taxes, hawker-licence fees, wet-market stall rents, inspection and quarantine fees for live food, the stamp duty on life or non-life insurance, bank service charges; waivers of signboard taxes for businesses (excluding tobacco advertisements); and exemption of restaurants from tourism tax.
Regarding tax cuts and waivers, the Government recommended continuing to waive the first 3,500 patacas of real estate tax for Macao residents and to reduce the property tax rate for leased properties to 8 percent of the taxable income.
For business-related taxes, the Government suggested: profit tax allowance remain at 600,000 patacas; that there should be additional deduction of tax applicable to research and development projects; that there should be waivers of profit tax for local enterprises on revenue gained from Portuguese-speaking countries; that waivers of stamp duty should be applicable to entrance passes and to tickets for cultural and arts performances, as well as those for exhibitions and entertainment; and that there should be a waiver of auction stamp duty.
The budget proposal for 2020 also suggested continuing with: exemption of stamp duty on the first 3 million patacas of a residential unit’s value, applicable to Macao permanent residents purchasing residential property for the first time; the waiver of profit tax on investment income from local bonds issued by mainland China governments and state-owned enterprises; and the exemption of stamp duty for issuing and acquiring such bonds.
Mr Chui said that either the application or continuation of such tax cuts, waivers and rebates was expected to have a net negative impact on Government tax revenue amounting to 3.42 billion patacas.
Meanwhile, bus fare concessions for the elderly, students, people with disabilities, and members of the public would be continued in 2020.
There were also recommendations that in 2020, subsidies for disadvantaged groups, temporary housing subsidies for eligible families on the waiting list for public housing, and the health voucher scheme, should be continued.
The 2020 budget proposal recommended continuing the initiative of injecting a 10,000-pataca initial allowance from the Government into the personal Social Security Fund account of every eligible permanent resident of Macao. It also suggested continuing the initiative of injecting an additional 7,000 patacas into the personal Social Security Fund account of every eligible permanent resident of Macao.
The Wealth Partaking Scheme would be continued in 2020, through offering 10,000 patacas to each permanent resident and 6,000 patacas to each non-permanent resident.
According to the Chief Executive, the Government proposed – after hearing suggestions from the Civil ServantPay Council – upwardly adjusting each point on the civil service salary scale to 91 patacas with effect from January 2020. The related legislative bill would be submitted to the Legislative Assembly for deliberation.
Mr Chui said the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, would represent the Government in explaining to the Legislative Assembly the budget proposal for 2020.