Lawmaker calls for parking-ticket and other fines to be increased

Ayra Wang

The Hong Kong administration should consider increasing government fines, including parking tickets, to bring in more revenue to the treasury in order to solve the fiscal deficit that is expected to exceed HK$100 billion, according to accountant and lawmaker Edmund Wong Chun-sek.

Wong suggested that the administration increase parking ticket fines by 15 to 20 percent, as they have remained unchanged for six years.

He told The Standard's sister newspaper Sing Tao Daily yesterday that increasing parking ticket fines would not only generate revenue but also save on administrative costs.

"Fewer people will break the law when the penalty is higher, as a result, administration expenses raised from collecting fines and going to courts could be saved," Wong said.

The possible increase in public service charges, including water bills and public hospital emergency room charges, has been under review.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po indicated that these charges might be increased in the upcoming budget to be delivered on February 28.

However, scholars have expressed concerns about increasing the charges for widely-used public services. Associate professor of Baptist University, Billy Mak Sui-choi said: "Taking social stability into consideration, is it a must to increase the charge of a service that is necessary for everyone and can benefit the whole territory?"

Mak added that many Western countries choose to subsidize residents instead of increasing water bills, and increasing water bills could place a heavier financial burden on local industries.

He suggested that the administration should adjust public service bills slightly based on the operational cost and consider increasing taxes instead.

"It is more cost-effective to increase certain taxes, which may make a small group of people unhappy, than to increase bills that may affect all citizens," Mak explained.

However, he advocated increasing emergency room charges in public hospitals, saying that it would be "reasonable" even if the fees was comparable to those in private hospitals.

"Increasing emergency room charges will help allocate hospital resources more accurately and save resources for hiring carers, purchasing more beds, and acquiring drugs for hospitals," Mak said.