HK should focus on Economy, not Politics, China’s Official says

China’s top official in Hong Kong said that the territory should shift its focus away from worrying about political reform and concentrate instead on economic development and improving people’s livelihoods.

Mr Zhang Xiaoming, the head of China’s Liaison Office in Hong Kong, was speaking in two weeks after Hong Kong’s legislature rejected a Beijing-backed electoral reform package in a dramatic vote.

The rejection was a rare instance of Hong Kong voting so heavily against a proposal endorsed by Beijing. Hong Kong has been governed as a Special Administrative Region (SAR) since its return to China in 1997, which means it has a different legal system and enjoys freedoms not permitted on the mainland.

Mr Zhang said: “The whole society should make concerted efforts to support the SAR government in shifting the focus to developing the economy, improving people’s livelihood and promoting social harmony”.

Filed under: Business and Economy, News and politics

HK disagrees with EU on new Tax Blacklist

The Government of Hong Kong expressed its regret that the European Union included the jurisdiction into the list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. The Government claimed that, as regards tax matters, criticism of its transparency is “totally unfounded.”

The EU tax blacklist was included in the European Commission’s new Corporate Tax Reform Action Plan. The plan with the blacklist was released on June 17, 2015 and features the territories included on 10 or more EU member state blacklists.

On June 18, the Government issued a statement to underline that Hong Kong has always supported international efforts to enhance tax transparency as well as fight tax evasion, so it is “puzzled and very disappointed to note that the Commission has regarded Hong Kong as non-tax cooperative.”

It was added that Hong Kong was denied any opportunity to comment on or clarify its position before the proposed blacklisting, which it said was “unilateral and procedurally unfair.”

It was stressed in the statement that Hong Kong accords priority to expanding its network of comprehensive double taxation agreements (CDTAs) and tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs). All CDTAs and TIEAs signed by Hong Kong have included an article on the exchange of information in line with international standards. Currently, the territory has signed 32 CDTAs and 7 TIEAs.

The Government of Hong Kong strongly urged the European Commission to review with member states their lists of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions to reflect the latest developments in Hong Kong’s tax co-operation with those jurisdictions. According to the Government, it “seriously refuted any allegation that Hong Kong is a tax haven.”

Filed under: Business and Economy, International Business Environment, News and politics, Offshore services, Taxation