Hong Kong shelves cross-border levy plan, marks second policy U-turn in a day

Hong Kong’s treasury minister has said authorities will shelve a proposed levy on private cars crossing the border into mainland China, citing feedback from lawmakers and members of the public. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu told the Legislative Council on Friday that the government had decided not to go ahead with implementing the boundary facility fee for the time being after “careful consideration”, marking the second policy U-turn of the day. The proposed fee for private cars departing via land boundary control points was suggested in the city government’s budget for the 2025-26 financial year. If set at HK$200 (US$26) per private car, the levy could have yielded about HK$1 billion in annual revenue for the government, according to the budget blueprint. The charge would not have affected coaches or goods vehicles. The proposal was part of the government’s efforts to deal with its HK$87.2 billion budget deficit. “Since we mentioned this initiative, we heard a lot of voices from many lawmakers and society. After careful consideration, we will not proceed with the levy at this stage,” Hui said at a panel meeting. Hui’s remarks were in response to questions from lawmaker Nick Chan Hiu-fung, who told the South China Morning Post on Friday that he supported the government’s decision to drop the proposal for now. The legislator said Hong Kong was a place where people, information and funds could flow freely across the border, adding that it would be odd to create such obstacles. “Doing something like this suddenly could affect people from making good use of the integrated development of the Greater Bay Area,” he said. “I think placing this levy would mean that Hong Kong would lose more than it gained.” The bay area refers to Beijing’s initiative to turn Hong Kong, Macau and nine cities in Guangdong province into an integrated economic powerhouse. Chan added that while the government had to consider its financial situation, there was also a need to balance that against the effects such a policy would have on people’s livelihoods. “The people who are going to the mainland aren’t just going there to shop, eat or get a massage. A lot of people are going there to do business. They are exploring potential business opportunities,” he said. Fellow legislator Mark Chong Ho-fung said he also supported the shelving of the proposal and noted that such a measure would hinder exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland. He added that introducing such a levy might trigger reciprocal arrangements by cities across the border or affect how mainland visitors viewed Hong Kong. “We have implemented a lot of measures to accelerate the contact and exchange between the mainland and Hong Kong. We have already spent a large sum of public money on this as well,” he said. “It is meaningless to obstruct the integration of the two sides that we have been spending so much money to accomplish, just for several hundred million Hong Kong dollars.” Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po previously rejected suggestions that the levy would hinder integration efforts, noting that the measure would only affect 15 per cent of travellers heading to the mainland. Chan had said those who used private vehicles tended to be better off financially and it was reasonable for the government to recoup some of its costs after investing in building and maintaining border-crossing infrastructure. Friday also saw authorities make a U-turn on the city’s seat belt requirement for bus passengers, announcing that they will repeal the law that took effect on Sunday.