Higher departure tax to reflect on tickets bought from October 1

Michael Shum

Travelers purchasing a plane ticket on October 1 and thereafter will have to pay HK$200 in air passenger departure tax instead of the current HK$120, while plane tickets purchased before that date will remain unaffected.

The government said the Air Passenger Departure Tax (Amendment) Bill will be gazetted tomorrow, with the nearly 70 percent jump to start from October 1 - a measure announced in last week's budget delivery.

It is estimated that the tax hike will increase the government's revenue by HK$1.6 billion annually. Certain classes of people remain exempted from payment, including passengers under 12, direct transit passengers, connecting flight passengers, as well as passengers arriving at the airport through Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge by ship or by aircraft while remaining within the restricted area at all times.

A government spokesman said the tax was last increased more than 20 years ago.

"The proposed increase constitutes only a very small portion of the overall traveling cost for the general public and travelers to Hong Kong. The impact on air passengers is expected to be minimal," the spokesman said. He added that airlines and helicopter companies will collect the tax from passengers on behalf of the government, and process applications for exemptions and refunds.