The government has served a notice to the Legislative Council on Wednesday to table the resolution of resuming the hotel accommodation tax at 3 percent starting 2025.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu will move the resolution to the Legislative Council on October 23 and the resolution will be gazetted on October 25, the government said.
Resuming the 3 percent tax levied from hotels and guesthouses starting January 1, 2025, was first proposed by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po in the 2024-25 Budget as part of the comprehensive fiscal consolidation program to restore fiscal balance in a few years’ time.
The government said the tax will bring an estimated annual revenue of about HK$1.1 billion and provide a stable source of revenue without affecting the general public.
“The tax to be collected only accounts for less than 1 percent of the spending by overnight visitors in Hong Kong and will not affect visitors’ choice of Hong Kong as a travel destination or their spending sentiment in Hong Kong,” it also said.
The government added that since the arrangement was announced, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Inland Revenue Department have been actively reaching out to the industry to facilitate them in understanding the operational arrangements and preparing for compliance.
The department has also been organizing briefings for industry practitioners, disseminating relevant information via letters and its website, and setting up a dedicated enquiry hotline and helpdesk at the Inland Revenue Center.
The tax was abolished on July 1, 2008.
