Policy Address 2026 | Kwan Ho-ming proposes extending statutory maternity and paternity leave; Fan Ka-kit calls for newborn baby bonus increase to HK$30k

A new Policy Address is currently under public consultation. Several legislators submitted written proposals to the Chief Executive today (2nd), while many others continued to offer suggestions on encouraging childbirth. Election Committee constituency legislator Kwan Ho-ming suggested considering optimising and extending the current statutory maternity leave and paternity leave, and studying the introduction of Singapore’s “parental shared leave,” under which couples may freely coordinate and allocate paid parental leave.

The three-year HK$20,000 newborn baby bonus scheme will end on October 24 this year. Election Committee constituency legislator Fan Kai-kit suggested making the bonus permanent, and increasing it to HK$30,000 per newborn baby in a way that is appropriate to inflation and fiscal conditions, in order to send a clear signal to the public that the government will provide long-term support for childbirth. He also suggested that the government study including confinement nanny service fees as a deductible item under salaries tax, in conjunction with the existing child allowance, so that families who can afford confinement nanny services can receive appropriate tax relief.

Policy Address 2026｜Kwan Ho-ming calls for a renewed push to expand and broaden the tax base consultation

On taxation, Kwan Ho-ming suggested that the SAR government work with Hong Kong’s major chambers of commerce, accounting and tax professional bodies, and think tank academics to restart the research that previous administrations had carried out on “introducing new taxes and broadening the tax base.” With regard to the various proposals for new tax types put forward by the public and the academic community in recent years—including targeted luxury taxes, new consumption taxes, as well as internationally common taxes such as value-added tax on capital gains and interest taxes—the study should take a scientific and pragmatic approach to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the pros and cons. Under the premise of safeguarding basic livelihood welfare for the middle class and grassroots, while maintaining Hong Kong’s core competitiveness of a “simple and low tax system,” the research should look for room to optimise the tax system structure.

Policy Address 2026｜Chan Man-yi advocates retaining the poverty line as an internal reference tool, saying the poverty line and targeted poverty alleviation are not in opposition

Regarding social welfare, legislator Chan Man-yi proposed retaining the poverty line as an internal reference tool. She stressed that the poverty line is not in opposition to targeted poverty alleviation. The former helps grasp macro trends, while the latter helps allocate resources precisely, and the two complement each other.