Financial Secretary Paul Chan on Wednesday cited market maturity as the main reason for scrapping concession arrangements for private electric vehicles.

The government will stop providing higher first registration tax concessions for those who replace their old car with a new electric one after the “One-for-One Replacement” scheme expires at the end of March.

At a press briefing on his budget address, Chan noted that 70 percent of newly registered cars are electric vehicles and stressed that it is time to end the “relaxed tax arrangement" for better market development.

“Initially, there weren't many electric vehicle models, and they were quite expensive. Now, as you can see, electric vehicles have many more models with many functions, and the comfort level has been greatly improved. The price has been decreasing year by year, so we think that electric vehicles already have a certain level of competitiveness,” he said.

The financial chief also said there are currently no plans to bring back the consumption voucher scheme.

“The employment situation has stabilised and people's incomes are rising. The stock market is performing well, and the residential market has also stabilised. All these factors suggest that people are more willing to spend. So although it has been studied, we believe it may not be the best time to reintroduce the consumption voucher scheme,” he said.

Chan also said the government will review the effectiveness of the Newborn Baby Bonus scheme before deciding whether to extend it.

Introduced in the 2023 Policy Address as part of efforts to encourage births, the scheme provides a one-off cash payment of HK$20,000 for each eligible baby born between October 25, 2023 and October 24, 2026.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden