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2019-09-23
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Proposed vacancy tax in line with long term interests of Hong Kong

¡iĶ¤å¡jThe vacancy tax bill gazetted on 9-13-2019 has been well received by various political parties. However, the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong urged the government to withhold the bill, as they fear the move would add fuel to the fire amid the downward trend for property prices. Affected by the anti-extradition protests and the Sino American trade war, the local property market did show signs of downward adjustment. However, the extent of such an adjustment is still limited. The vacancy tax bill is still worthy of support. In the face of deep-rooted social conflicts, property developers must take account of the overall situation and the long-term interests of the society. Developers should speed up the pace of selling to meet market demands, and the SAR government should also proactively consider any options that could increase land and housing supply.

In the past, no measures have been put in place to regulate property developers' pace of flat sales. Like how toothpaste is squeezed out of the tube, private housing projects are often sold in batches, and it could take years to complete the sales of a housing project. According to official data from the Transport and Housing Bureau, the number of vacant new flats has more than doubled in five years - from around 4,000 units in March 2013 to over 10,000 units in June 2019. This record high number since 2008 shows that the severe vacancy problem is one of the major culprits of the persistently high home prices.

The government proposes that the first-hand building with a 12-month occupation permit should be reported to the Government on an annual basis. Additional rates should be paid to speed up the progress of the developers selling the flats and enhance the efficiency of the property market. Different parties such as the DAB support the levy of vacant taxes. From the preliminary results, the vacant tax regulations were gazetted, and the major developers immediately rushed to release the goods. This shows that it is indeed effective in combating hoarding.

According to government proposals, property developers of first-hand private residential units with occupation permit issued for 12 months or more must report annually to the government the status of these units. Special rates will be collected (if the units have not been rented out for more than six months). The proposed measure could speed up new flats' sales and enhance the efficiency of the property market's flow, and was well received among local political parties. As property developers scrambled to offload stock after the vacancy tax bill was gazetted, the new measure has proven to be effective in tackling land hoarding.

The rationale for property developers in asking the government to shelve the vacancy tax bill is that the property market in Hong Kong has turned weak in recent months. However, according to the latest property price index, there is only an accumulative drop of 1-2 per cent from the previous month. Home prices overall still remain high. As Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said, the adjustment has been in an orderly manner, and is not a problem at all. If the vacancy tax bill is withheld just because of a slight adjustment in property prices, it will only send out a wrong signal to the market that the government maintains a policy of high property prices, and is therefore deliberately pushing up property prices.

Hong Kong has long been the world's least affordable city in the world in terms of housing. In the 15th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey, Hong Kong was ranked the least affordable city in the world for the ninth year in a row. Average home prices rose from 19.4 times the gross annual median household income in 2017 to a record high of 20.9 times in 2018, meaning that it would take an average household 20.9 years to be able to afford an apartment if there were no other expenses. The house price-to-income ratio of the next two least affordable cities around the world after Hong Kong, namely Vancouver and Sydney, are 12.6 and 11.7 respectively. At 20.9, the ratio of Hong Kong is way higher than its counterparts. With the persistently high property prices, the quality of life of the Hong Kong people has been deteriorating, and Hong Kong's youth has found it nearly impossible to own a home. The resultant social discontent has now become a ticking time bomb that adversely affects the social harmony and stability of Hong Kong.

The SAR government should take a more active stance to bring down the property prices in order to ease the conflicts in our society. Meanwhile, property developers should not only consider their industry's business interests, but also the interests of the whole society. They should also be responsible for our young people and the future of Hong Kong.

Apart from private residential units, there is also a shortfall of 67,000 public housing units in Hong Kong. There is no time to lose in releasing land for housing. A Recent suggestion from local political parties that called for the government to invoke the Lands Resumption Ordinance to take back hoarded lands for public housing has been well received by the public. The Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has also promised that the government's measures to tackle housing shortage will keep coming. It is hoped that the society will come together to do whatever it takes to fulfil every Hong Kong citizen's living needs, and build a more liveable and happier Hong Kong.¡½Jeffrey Tse

Q&A

1. ¦a¬FÁ`¸p

2. ®t»èª«·~¦ô»ù¸p

3. ®t»è

4. ¦a¯²

5. ¤g¦aµù¥U³B

Answer

1. the Lands Department

2. the Rating and Valuation Department

3. rates

4. government rent

5. the Land Registry

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