- 36
Thirdly, according to Article 26 of the Basic Law, permanent residents of the HKSAR will have the right to vote and the right to stand for election in accordance with law. However, there is no correlation between permanent resident status and liability to tax. Under Article 42 of the Basic Law, any person in Hong Kong, whether or not he has a right of abode in the HKSAR, has the obligation to abide by the laws in force in the HKSAR, which will include the law relating to taxation matters. Under the Inland Revenue Ordinance, it is the territorial source of the income or profits, not the permanent resident status of the person concerned, which is the deciding factor in respect of the person's liability to tax.
Having said that, I must emphasise that many detailed questions, including those mentioned in the Honourable James To's question, must be resolved before the Government can take a position on the arrangements for non-Chinese nationals to acquire the right of abode envisaged by the Chinese side. We are continuing our discussions with the Chinese side under the auspices of the Joint Liaison Group. It remains our objective to obtain satisfactory answers to all these questions as soon as possible. Such discussions are covered by the confidentiality provision of the Joint Declaration, and it would not be appropriate for me to disclose the details of our exchanges with Chinese officials. If and when we are able to reach a satisfactory conclusion to these discussions, we would obviously make clear publicly the precise arrangements agreed with the Chinese side.
End
KCRC consultancy works
Following is a question by the Hon Ambrose Lau Hon-chuen and a reply by the acting Secretary for Transport, Mr Paul Leung, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
In regard to the proposed Western Corridor Railway project which straddles 1997, will the Government inform this Council:
(a)
of the number of consultancy contracts expected to be awarded by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) in addition to the consultancy contracts at a total cost of $434 million already awarded so far; what the areas of study and the costs of consultancy contracts expected to be awarded are; and whether the Chinese side will be consulted before these consultancy contracts are awarded; and