The number of Hong Kong taxpayers earning more than HK$900,000 (US$115,000) annually increased in 2023-24 compared with the previous financial year despite a drop in tax revenue, with the highest earners including an executive from a top conglomerate who raked in nearly HK$130 million.
Provisional figures released by the Inland Revenue Department on Thursday showed 15.4 per cent of the city’s 1.83 million taxpayers earned more than HK$900,000 in annual income in the latest financial year, up one percentage point from 2022-23.
While the authorities did not disclose the names of the highest earners, a Post check of company annual reports found CK Hutchison Holdings co-executive director Canning Fok Kin-ning, once dubbed the “King of Employees”, made HK$129.7 million in the year ending December 31, 2023, which included about HK$12.3 million in basic salary and HK$116 million in bonuses.
But his overall pay was 36.4 per cent lower than the HK$204.2 million he earned in 2022.
Hong Kong tax revenue falls by HK$18.2 billion amid weak stock, property markets
Hong Kong tax revenue falls by HK$18.2 billion amid weak stock, property markets
CK Hutchison’s underlying profit decreased 9 per cent to HK$23.5 billion in 2023 amid a slowing global economy and a high interest rate regime.
Some top managers of other large companies saw a big pay rise.
Cathay Pacific Airways CEO Ronald Lam Siu-por’s pay package hit HK$10.45 million in the year ending December 31, 2023, up 32.11 per cent against the year before.
The city’s flag carrier turned around from a HK$6.62 billion net loss in 2022 to a record net profit of HK$9.78 billion in 2023 amid a strong post-pandemic recovery.
Jacob Kam Chak-pui, CEO of rail operator the MTR Corporation, pocketed 15.4 per cent more pay at HK$19.4 million in the year ending December 31, 2023.
Kent Wong Siu-kee, 68-year-old managing director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, took home HK$23.6 million in 2022-23. His earnings were slightly lower than the HK$24 million chairman Henry Cheng Kar-shun pocketed but more than other Cheng family members on the board.
Over at PCCW, acting group managing director Susanna Hui Hon-hing earned HK$57.9 million in the year ending December 31, 2023, which was 9.86 per cent higher than the HK$52.7 million she received in 2022.
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The top guns among financial regulators also earned handsome pay.
Former Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing CEO Nicolas Aguzin, who stepped down on February 29 this year, earned HK$25.52 million in salary and HK$63.77 million in share award benefits in the year ending December 31, 2023. In 2022, his pay was HK$23.95 million.
Julia Leung Fung-yee, who took up the CEO role of Securities and Futures Commission in January 2023, earned HK$8.71 million in 2022-23, up from HK$7.23 million a year earlier.
In the year ending December 31, 2023, Hong Kong Monetary Authority CEO Eddie Yue Wai-man raked in HK$10.2 million.
These high-paid individuals may face higher taxes.
In his budget this year, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po proposed the introduction of a two-tiered standard rates tax regime on salaries where residents will pay a standard rate of 15 per cent for the first HK$5 million of net income, before going up to 16 per cent for anyone who surpasses that amount.
Hong Kong to cut tax on IP profits to 5%, align copyright law with AI advances
Hong Kong to cut tax on IP profits to 5%, align copyright law with AI advances
The tax is currently calculated at a standard rate of 15 per cent or progressive rates ranging between 2 per cent and 17 per cent of a taxpayer’s net income, according to whichever figure is lower.
Chan previously said the change could affect 0.6 per cent of the city’s taxpayers, or about 12,000 people, and produce an extra HK$910 million each year in public revenue.
A HK$101.6 billion budget deficit was recorded by the government for the financial year ending in March, nearly doubling a forecast projected last year.
The government was also expected to face a HK$48.1 billion deficit in the coming financial year, even with a HK$120 billion bond issuance.
The Inland Revenue Department on Thursday said Hong Kong’s tax revenue dropped by HK$18.2 billion to HK$342 billion in 2023-24, down from HK$360.2 billion in the previous year.
