Government welcomes passage of Rating (Amendment) Bill 2024
The Government welcomed the passage of the Rating (Amendment) Bill 2024 by the Legislative Council today (October 23). The Bill gives effect to the progressive rating system for domestic tenements, which will take effect from the fourth quarter of this financial year (i.e. January to March 2025), to uphold the principle of "affordable users pay".
Starting from the fourth quarter of this financial year, for domestic tenements with a rateable value (RV) of $550,000 or below, rates will continue to be charged at 5 per cent of the RV. For domestic tenements with an RV exceeding $550,000, rates will be charged at the same rate of 5 per cent for the first $550,000, 8 per cent for the next $250,000, and 12 per cent for the remaining RV.
Non-domestic tenements, including tenements used for business activities or social services, e.g. commercial building, industrial building, shop, hotel, nursery, home for the elderly, youth hostel, holiday camp, etc, will not be subject to the progressive rating system.
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, "The progressive rating system endeavours to strike a balance between upholding the 'affordable users pay' principle and minimising the number of ratepayers affected. In formulating the progressive rating system, the Government has taken into account a basket of factors, including the affordability of ratepayers of domestic tenements, the market rentals as reflected in the RV, the number of affected ratepayers and the amount of additional rates to be paid, the estimated increase in revenue from rates, as well as the fundamental principle of maintaining a simple rating system. The progressive rating system is part of the Government's comprehensive fiscal consolidation programme. It is expected that government revenue will increase by about $820 million each year. The affected domestic tenements account for about 1.9 per cent of the total number of private domestic tenements in Hong Kong."
The Bill will be gazetted on November 1. The Rating and Valuation Department will inform the affected ratepayers. The quarterly demands to be issued in the fourth quarter of this financial year will reflect the progressive rates for applicable cases.
HKSAR Government welcomes court's decision to dismiss Chow Hang Tung's application for judicial review on clothing policy for persons in custody
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government welcomes the judgment handed down by the Court of First Instance of the High Court today (January 13) to dismiss Chow Hang Tung's application for judicial review on the clothing policy for persons in custody (PICs).
The court judgment pointed out that the current clothing policy for PICs, including the requirement for female PICs to wear trousers in summer daytime, was formulated by the Correctional Services Department (CSD) as authorised by the Prison Rules. The Court was satisfied that the CSD had the expertise and experience in the relevant context, and that it had carefully considered various factors, taken into account of professional opinion when making the decision, as well as reviewed the policy continuously. The Court ruled that Chow Hang Tung had failed to demonstrate that the current policy constituted less favourable treatment of a particular gender. The Court pointed out that there was currently no factual evidence to support any assertion that there was widespread concern about the health effects of wearing trousers in summer. In addition, the rule was not absolute, but instead allowed individual PICs to apply for exceptional arrangements in special circumstances. At the same time, the Court also rejected Chow Hang Tung's assertion that she had requested to the CSD in July and August 2024 to wear shorts and had been refused.
A spokesman for the Security Bureau said, "The ruling of the Court of First Instance confirmed that the CSD's approach is reasonable, justified and lawful. According to Rule 26 of the Prison Rules, the CSD must provide every PIC with a uniform that meets a scale imposed by the Commissioner of Correctional Services. Over the years, the CSD had appointed task groups from time to time to review the clothing arrangements of PICs. These reviews gave ample consideration to numerous factors, including the type of correctional institutions, PICs' varying daily routines and activities involved, the need for thermal, physical and psychological comfort for PICs of different genders, privacy and decency of PICs and the security, good order and discipline of the prison, so as to continuously refine clothing arrangements according to the prevailing circumstances."
The spokesman stated, "Chow Hang Tung's assertion that she requested to wear shorts in summer and was rejected by the CSD is entirely inconsistent with the facts and was rejected by the Court. Besides, the current clothing policy for PICs already provides a degree of flexibility. For example, a PIC may make an application to wear other clothing on medical or non-medical grounds to the CSD, and the CSD would make appropriate arrangements having considered the actual circumstances and relevant factors."
The CSD will continue to impartially implement the relevant rules of the Prison Rules in accordance with the law and commit to providing a secure, safe, humane, decent and healthy custodial environment.
Source: AI-found images
