Message from Legislative Councillor (Functional
Constituency Representative for Wholesale & Retail)
立法會議員之話 批發及零售界功能組別代表
Hon. Peter Shiu
邵家輝先生
With the new term of Legislative Council that began on October 1, it is a
great honour for me to be able to succeed Mr Vincent Fang as the LegCo
representative of the wholesale and retail sector. This is a valuable opportunity
indeed for me to serve the members of retail industry for the next four years,
just as Mr Fang did over the past twelve years. Undoubtedly, Mr Fang made
great contributions to both the industry and Hong Kong society during his
service in LegCo, and hence he is a role model for me to follow. In the future,
I will continue his direction of works and spirit of service – modestly listen to
opinion of the industry, voice your requests and make every effort to safeguard
the business environment in Hong Kong.
As soon as assuming office in early October, I joined the other three LegCo
Members of the Liberal Party to meet with the Chief Executive Mr CY Leung.
We raised 89 suggestions in all for the coming Policy Address and Budget. At
the meeting, I highlighted the current situation of the retail industry to Mr
Leung that the value of total retail sales has fallen for 18 months (post-meeting
note: 19 months as at November), which was even expected to go on for
some time. Therefore, I urged the government not to increase the burden of
the industry, and instead, to carry out more relief measures than last year. In
particular, I warned that if the MPF Offset Mechanism is abolished, it will badly
hit the survival of our industry.
Amongst the suggestions, we urged the Government to reduce profits tax again,
and the reduction should be greater than that of last year. The last Budget just
reduced last year’s profits tax by 75%, subject to a ceiling of $20,000, which
brought forth minimal assistance to businesses. We also proposed to reduce
salaries tax by 75%, but the upper limit should be increased from $20,000
to $40,000. Meanwhile, the Government should continue to waive business
registration fee and various licenses’ fees, and urge the banks to relax the stringent
criteria on the applications for the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme.
新一屆立法會已於十月一日開始運作，我
非常榮幸能夠接替方剛先生出任批發及零
售界的立法會議員，於未來四年任期裡投
入為業界服務。方先生在過去十二年的議
會工作中對業界和社會貢獻良多，一直是
我努力效法的榜樣。今後我定當秉承方先
生的工作方針和服務精神，虛心地多聽大
家的意見，積極為業界發聲，竭力維護香
港的營商環境。
十月初剛上任的時候，我聯同自由黨的其
餘三位立法會議員會見了行政長官梁振英
先生，就來年度施政報告和財政預算案提
出
89
項建議。會上我特別向梁特首反映
目前零售市道的景況，指出零售業總銷貨
值已連跌十八個月（會後註：截至十一月
已連跌十九個月），估計還會持續一段日
子。所以我促請特首推出更多措施協助零
售業界，切勿動輒加重業界的負擔，尤其
強調假若強積金對沖機制被取消，勢必重
重打擊業界的生存空間。
此外，我們要求政府再次寬減利得稅，減幅
更應比往年大，因為上一份預算案提出寬減
上年度利得稅
75%
，但只以二萬元為上限，
實質作用不大。而薪俸稅方面，我們亦建議
退還
75%
，上限則應由去年二萬元增至四萬
元。同時政府也要繼續寬免商業登記費和各
類牌照費，以及敦促銀行放寬「中小企融資
擔保計劃」的嚴苛審批標準。
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