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Air Passenger Departure Tax Bill
Following is the speech by the acting Secretary for Treasury, Mr Alan Lai, in moving the second reading of the Air Passenger Departure Tax (Amendment) Bill 1995 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr President,
I move that the Air Passenger Departure Tax (Amendment) Bill 1995 be read a second time.
Every airline passenger aged 12 or above leaving Hong Kong by air from the airport has to pay the air passenger departure tax. The airline operators are responsible for collecting the tax. At present, air passengers can only pay the tax at the airline check-in counters before their departure.
To improve services to passengers, many of whom are tourists, we have examined alternative methods of collecting the departure tax and we now propose to allow hotels to collect the tax by selling tax coupons to their guests. The Bill before Members seeks to enable the Director of Civil Aviation to appoint the hotels for such purpose. This will provide more flexibility in collecting the tax. Overseas visitors staying at hotels will no longer need to worry about keeping local currency for paying the tax at the airport. The amount may also be included in hotel room bills but the hotels will not levy an additional charge for providing the service. This proposal has the support of the Hong Kong Tourist Association and the Hong Kong Hotels Association.
The Bill also seeks to enable the Director of Civil Aviation to delegate his powers and functions for departure tax collection under the Ordinance and to specify the manner in which the powers and functions delegated shall be exercised and performed. This will allow more flexibility in administering the tax collection work.
Mr President, with these remarks, I commend the Bill to Members.
End/Wednesday, October 18, 1995