Second cash handout after mid year

Macau’s permanent and non-permanent residents will receive a further MOP 3,000 and MOP 1,800 respectively, in an additional cash payout announced yesterday by the Chief Executive. Fernando Chui Sai On told lawmakers the payments would be disbursed in the second half of this year.
This new scheme represents an expense of MOP 1.7 billion, he said, and the Government will soon send an amending budget to the Legislative Assembly (AL) for approval.
Speaking at the AL, Chui acknowledged that the handout will likely have ‘pros and cons’. For instance, “some believe it will drive up inflation”. The head of the MSAR agreed that there would be a ‘short-term impact’.
However, the measure will not cause inflation to rise by more than 0.45 percent, he assured. “In our experience, it won’t negatively impact the main factors causing inflation,” he added.
It will be the first time since 2008, when then Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah launched the scheme, that the payment will occur twice in one year. In the first quarter of this year, the Administration has granted MOP 4,000 for permanent and MOP 2,400 for non-permanent residents.
Earlier this month, while announcing several social measures, Government spokesperson Alexis Tam Chon Weng called for caution as several lawmakers called for a second cash handout.

‘Inflation could reach five percent in the second half of 2011. […] We can’t do much but we will do all that’s possible’: Chui Sai On

“If inflation were to rise too much above five percent we will certainly announce new measures,” he said.
Chui said yesterday, “inflation could reach five percent in the second half of 2011”.
“We can’t do much but we will do all that’s possible,” he emphasised in a question and answer session at the AL.
The Government will also consider whether to continue distributing healthcare vouchers. “It’s been going on for quite some time. We can now do a more detailed study,” the Chief Executive said, in reply to lawmaker Paul Chan Wai Chi, who had called for an end to healthcare vouchers.
Chui added that authorities will also analyse the possibility of distributing food vouchers.

Property sale tax

If homeowners decide to sell their property less than two years after purchase, they will be required to pay a 20 percent tax on the transaction, the Chief Executive announced.
The authorities will issue guidelines demanding more transparency from real estate companies, with a goal of increasing supervision and transparency, and preventing tax evasion, Chui explained.
These new draft laws to regulate the property market will be presented ‘very soon’, he promised.
These measures were not enough to satisfy Kwan Tsui Hang. The lawmaker said the ‘very slow’ supply of housing meant that Macau’s middle-class were becoming ‘slaves to the homes they bought’.
In the last six months the Government has announced several other measures to slow down the housing sector. But ‘prices continue to soar and wages have not been able to keep up’, the head of the MSAR agreed.
He called on local residents to stop buying non-essential things, like property, and have reasonable expectations about home ownership. However Chui acknowledged that a young couple wishing to acquire a home and begin a new family was fair and reasonable.
The Chief Executive expressed confidence that the Administration will be able to keep its promise of building 19,000 public housing units by the end of 2012. “Several disputes over the land ownership are already solved,” he stressed.

More housing

There are other parcels reserved for construction of public housing if necessary, Chui added.
Just last week, secretary for Transport and Public Works, Lau Si Io, said that a 3,400 square-metre land parcel in Fai Chi Kei would not be auctioned but set aside for public housing.

‘The ‘very slow’ supply of housing meant that Macau’s middle-class were becoming ‘slaves to the homes they bought’: Kwan Tsui Hang

When asked by lawmaker Au Kam San if this plot would be immediately integrated into the public housing program, the Chief Executive did not reply.
Instead he stated that the new reclaimed areas will also include plots for public housing.
Chui did not reject the construction of more public housing units, a demand reiterated by lawmakers. “That deserves all of our support. The essential thing to do is build more units, as prices are rising,” he said.
The head of the MSAR asked for more time to evaluate the impact of the distribution of 19,000 public housing units in the local property market.
Lawmaker Ho Ion Sang also called for “a less passive mindset” from the Government in dealing with undeveloped plots. “The absence of a transparent mechanism to develop our scarce land resources is deplorable,” he said.
The Chief Executive rejected the criticism and praised the work of Lau Si Io and the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau. “We’re talking about 113 cases and 48 have already been analysed,” he responded.
“We hope to recover all the undeveloped plots but we must also consider the circumstances,” Chui warned. “We must give developers a chance to be heard and some might not agree with our decision, which could lead to a lengthy legal dispute,” he said.