The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat: The Legislative Council (LegCo) House Committee will hold a special meeting on Saturday (May 4) at 2pm in Conference Room 1 of the LegCo Complex to d… read more
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) sent out about 2.68 million tax returns for individuals today (May 2). The Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Mr Wong Kuen-fai, reminded taxpayers to file their tax returns on time by June 3. For sole proprietors of unincorporated businesses, a three-month period is allowed and the filing deadline is August 2. Filing via eTAX will provide an automatic extension of one month (i.e. deadline for general cases is July 3, and for sole proprietors September 2).
Mr Wong also reminded taxpayers to pay sufficient postage if they send the returns by post. He encouraged taxpayers to file their returns through eTAX, which offers an easy, secure and environment-friendly online service for filing tax returns. Taxpayers can ensure tax returns be timely filed to the IRD.
In the Budget for this year, the Financial Secretary has proposed a 75 per cent reduction of the profits tax, salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for the year of assessment 2018/19, subject to a ceiling of $20,000 per case. The Government has started the law amendment process. After enactment of the relevant legislation, the IRD will effect the tax measures in the 2018/19 tax bills to be issued later.
Mr Wong said taxpayers should complete this year’s tax return as usual and no application is needed for the proposed tax measures.
“Individuals with rental income, if eligible, may elect personal assessment in their tax returns to enjoy the tax reduction,” he added.
Mr Wong also highlighted new or changed items for the year of assessment 2018/19:
| Tax Type | 2018-19 Revenue (Provisional Figures) ($million) |
2017-18 Revenue (Actual Figures) ($million) |
Change |
| ————- | ————- | ————– | |
| Profits Tax | 166,618 | 139,100.2 | +20% |
| Salaries Tax | 60,143 | 60,838.8 | -1% |
| Property Tax & Personal Assessment |
9,587 | 8,790.3 | +9% |
| ————- | ————- | ||
| Total Earnings & Profits Tax |
236,348 | 208,729.3 | +13% |
| Estate Duty | 89 | 31.3 | +184% |
| Stamp Duty | 79,979 | 95,172.8 | -16% |
| Betting Duty | 22,194 | 21,959.1 | +1% |
| Business Registration Fees | 2,827 | 2,726.7 | +4% |
| ————- | ————- | ||
| Total Revenue Collected | 341,437 | 328,619.2 | +4% |
The Department of Health (DH) launched the EatSmart Restaurant (ESR) Star + Campaign to enhance the EatSmart Restaurant Campaign, which has been running for over 10 years. The enhanced ESR Star + Campaign has introduced a new star system which uses one star, two stars or three stars to indicate different EatSmart Dishes and promotions offered by the ESRs. The ESR Star + Campaign aims to encourage more restaurants to provide a wider range of healthier dishes and assist members of the public in putting healthy eating into practice. At present, a total of 1 028 outlets under 280 brands have enrolled, with nearly half of them being three-star ESRs.
Officiating at the launch ceremony for the ESR Star + Campaign today (May 2), the Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, said, “Maintaining a healthy diet is beneficial to the overall health of the public and the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The Government last year announced the ‘Towards 2025: Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent and Control Non-communicable Diseases in Hong Kong’, focusing on changing four NCDs-related behavioural risk factors, namely unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol, and setting targets to reduce the burden of NCDs in Hong Kong by 2025.”
Professor Chan pointed out that a healthy diet is essential to the success of the strategy and action plan, while the catering industry is the Government’s most important partner in promoting a healthy diet. She expressed gratitude to the Association for Hong Kong Catering Services Management Ltd, the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades Ltd, the Association of Restaurant Managers and the Institution of Dining Art for their support, as well as restaurant chains and other individual ESRs for their participation, which has contributed to spicing up Hong Kong’s reputation as a culinary paradise with a healthy element.
Also attending the ESR Star + Campaign’s launch ceremony, the Director of Health, Dr Constance Chan, said that since the launch of the EatSmart Restaurant Campaign in 2008, the public have been able to savour healthier choices when eating out, while food premises are encouraged to offer a wider variety of healthy dishes, bringing a positive impact on both consumers and the catering industry.
According to a survey conducted by the DH in 2016, over 90 per cent of respondents hoped that food premises could provide additional healthier choices. When eating out or ordering takeaway food, 72 per cent of respondents will choose dishes with more fruit and vegetables, while 72 to 77 per cent will choose dishes with less oil, salt and sugar. Around 90 per cent said that they would patronise ESRs that provide healthier dishes again.
As for food premises, the survey found that 76 per cent of the interviewed ESRs observed an increase in customers who choose EatSmart Dishes; 40 per cent believed that customers came to their restaurants because they were ESRs; and 24 per cent said that sales had increased since their restaurants became ESRs.
Dr Chan said, “When eating out, the majority of the public will consider the price, taste and location of the restaurants, hence the enhanced ESR Star + Campaign has developed a new star system to classify participating restaurants into one-star, two-star or three-star ESRs. We hope that the new system can attract more restaurants to become starred eateries to provide a wider variety of ‘More Fruit and Vegetables’ and ‘3 Less’ dishes, as well as introduce promotional offers for the EatSmart Dishes, so that members of the public can enjoy tasty and healthier dishes at different locations with a discounted price when eating out.”
Under the Campaign’s new star system, a green star indicates that the restaurant offers “More Fruit and Vegetables” dishes on a daily basis; a red star means that the restaurant offers both “More Fruit and Vegetables” dishes and “3 Less” dishes with less oil, salt and sugar on a daily basis; and a yellow star means that the restaurant has a daily promotional offer (EatSmart Promotion) for “More Fruit and Vegetables” dishes or “3 Less” dishes. A restaurant becomes a three-star ESR by obtaining all green, red and yellow stars.
More information on the EatSmart Restaurant Star + Campaign is available at the thematic website (restaurant.eatsmart.gov.hk), a newly launched Facebook fanpage (www.facebook.com/eatsmartrestaurant.dh) and Instagram account (www.instagram.com/EATSMARTRESTAURANT). Members of the public can also download the EatSmart Restaurant mobile app to sear​ch for ESRs conveniently when eating out. read more
​The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, today (May 2) met with the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for the Western Pacific, Dr Takeshi Kasai, during his visit to Hong Kong.
Welcoming Dr Kasai’s visit to Hong Kong, Professor Chan said, “The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) works in close collaboration with the WHO to protect and safeguard public health. We uphold and adopt public health principles promulgated by the WHO and implement a variety of health programmes for the prevention and control of communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCD), as well as other aspects including mental health, tobacco control, Chinese medicine and access to essential drugs.
“I had a fruitful exchange with Dr Kasai today and took the opportunity to share with him the latest developments in Hong Kong’s healthcare policies, such as the development of primary healthcare and District Health Centre, strategy formulation and an action plan to prevent and control NCD, as well as cancer strategy. I also briefed him on our strategy for responding to the recent measles outbreak at Hong Kong International Airport. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with the WHO to take forward various health programmes.”
Dr Kasai said, “It is a great pleasure to visit the HKSAR for the first time as the WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, to discuss health issues in Hong Kong as well as the shared challenges facing our region. The WHO greatly values its close working relationship with the Government of the HKSAR and its support for the WHO’s work. I look forward to continuing to work with Professor Chan and other colleagues of the HKSAR Government, as together we face the challenges of the future.”
Hong Kong was assigned to the WHO Western Pacific Region at the Sixth World Health Assembly in 1953. The FHB leads government delegations to attend the annual World Health Assembly and the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific.
The HKSAR Government actively supports the work of the WHO. Since 2012, the Department of Health (DH) has been designated as the WHO Collaborating Centre for Traditional Medicine and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Smoking Cessation and Treatment of Tobacco Dependence. In addition, the Director of Health serves as a commissioner for the WHO Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity, which advises on approaches and combinations of interventions for tackling childhood and adolescent obesity in different contexts around the world. From time to time, the HKSAR Government co-organises international meetings with the WHO to discuss public health matters with global implications.
The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) released today (May 2) the advance estimates on Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2019. Starting from the current reference quarter, th… read more