Hong Kong Budget Highlights for 2024/25

As Hong Kong published its initiatives and measures to keep Hong Kong as Asia’s number one financial hub, we iNCUBEE summarize and highlight the government’s 2024/25 budget, and guide our clients along this financial year so that our clients could strive through this year with ease and precision and take any opportunities that comes by in the year of the Dragon (Loong).

Business Registration Certificate

For the one-year Business Registration Certificate, the total cost (fee and levy combined is HK$2,200, compared to HK$2,150 from last year.

Annual Return Fee

Annual Return Filing Fee stands the same at HK$105 as last year.

Corporate Tax

• The two-tiered profit tax rates for corporations remain the same at the level of 8.25% with the first HK$2 million of the Company’s profit and after this threshold the standard rate of 16.5% applies.
• Reduction on profit tax for the year of assessment 2023/24 by 100%, subject to a ceiling of HK$3,000.

Funding

BUD (“Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales”) Fund – the government top up the pot with another HK$500 million for enterprises which is looking to expand into Mainland and overseas markets.

The Government increased its expenditure to support SMEs from HK$1,327 million to HK$ 1,600 million this year and a separate cover on the different kinds of funding schemes will be sent out in a separate cover very soon. Stay tuned.

Helping the Small and Medium Enterprises

Application on the 80% and 90% SME Financing Guarantee Scheme has been extended for another 2 years till the first quarter of 2026. The Government is injecting a further Hk$10 billion into the Scheme to aid enterprises to tide over its liquidity needs.

Intellectual Property

As a stimulus to enhance intellectual property applications the government aims to implement the “patent box” tax incentive by the 2nd quarter of this year. This initiative aims to reduce the profit tax rate to 5% for earnings generated from qualifying intellectual property. The government hopes by doing so, boost enterprises appetite to investments in research and development (R&D) and to commercialize in IP activities and IP Protection.

Attracting Inward investments

CIES – The capital Investment Entrant Scheme invites those invest a minimum of HK$27 million into approved asset allocation and another HK$3 million towards a new CIES investment portfolio can apply for residency in Hong Kong.