THE ECONOMY
The Rating and Valuation Department is responsible for the billing and collection of rates, which are levied on landed properties at a fixed percentage of their rateable value. In 1999–2000, the overall rates percentage charge was 5 per cent. The revenue raised helped to finance the various public services provided by the provisional municipal councils, and provided a stable and reliable revenue stream for the Government.
The Rating and Valuation Department is also responsible for the assessment of rateable value which is the estimated annual rent of a property as at a designated date. Starting from 1999, annual revaluations of properties are conducted to keep rateable values up-to-date. The current Valuation List took effect on April 1, 1999 and the rateable values reflect rental values at October 1, 1998.
The Valuation Lists as at March 31, 1999, contained about 1 693 000 assessments. In 1998-99, the total revenue from rates was $11.5 billion. Of this amount, $4.6 billion, collected from Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, was credited to the Provisional Urban Council and $3.3 billion, collected from the New Territories, went to the Provisional Regional Council. The remaining $3.6 billion was credited to the Government's General Revenue Account.
The Rating and Valuation Department is also responsible for the billing and collection of government rent. Government rent is payable from July 1, 1997 for land leases granted on or after May 27, 1985, and on the extension of non-renewable land leases. The latter comprise all land leases in the New Territories and New Kowloon north of Boundary Street which were renewed on June 28, 1997. The rent is levied at 3 per cent of the rateable value of the lot and is adjusted in step with changes in the rateable value. There were about 1 023 000 assessments in the Government Rent Roll as at March 31, 1999. The total rent collected in 1998-99 was $4.3 billion.
The Government derives significant amounts of revenue from other sources. Fees and charges for services provided by government departments Generated about $10.6 billion, or about 5 per cent of total revenue, in 1998–99. It is government policy that fees should in general be set at levels sufficient to recover the full cost of providing the services. Certain essential services are, however, subsidised by the Government or provided free. The Government has frozen most fees and charges in 1999-2000.
Also, in 1998-99, the Government collected $27.1 billion, amounting to about 13 per cent of the total revenue, from investments and rents from government properties (excluding the revenue collected from government rent which is charged at 3 per cent of rateable value). A further $4.4 billion was generated by government-operated public utilities, accounting for about 2 per cent of the total revenue. The most important of these, in revenue terms, is waterworks.
Lastly, some $19.3 billion, or about 9 per cent of the total revenue in 1998-99, was generated from land transactions. All revenue from land transactions is credited to the Capital Works Reserve Fund.
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