The Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong proposed a HK$32.1 billion package yesterday to be included in the coming fiscal year budget.

The package that they tabled to Financial Secretary John Tsang contains three parts, namely job creation, economic development and domestic consumption during the economic downturn.

After the meeting, DAB Chairman Tam Yiu-chung described Tsang as being quite positive while listening to their suggestions. The secretary also said HK$32.1 billion constitutes about 15 percent of total government expenditure (which is about HK$200 billion to HK$220 billion a year), but Tam insisted that they have shown self-restraint with their suggestions.

On job creation, the party suggested the government spend HK$600 million to create 10,000 new jobs by providing HK$5,000, or 50 percent of the wage of the jobs (whichever is lower), for one year.

They also asked the government to provide maintenance services for old buildings, remove deserted signboards and speed up minor works in the 18 districts.

On ways to stimulate consumption, the party asked the government to spend HK$300 million to carry out weekly lucky draws in conjunction with the private sector for six months. The suggested prizes include: two Housing Authority Home Ownership Scheme residential flats, 200 free bus/railway/ferry passes for one year and 2,000 Disneyland/Ocean Park annual passes.

As for ways to improve the people's financial burden, the party proposed a 50 percent rebate in the salaries tax with a ceiling of HK$15,000 in the next fiscal year.

(HK Edition 12/03/2008 page1)