The Hong Kong government is set to announce the 2026/27 Budget on February 25. The Hong Kong branch of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) has submitted a new set of budget proposals, encompassing 15 recommendations. These include accelerating the development of the Northern Metropolis, strengthening Hong Kong's role as a platform for mainland Chinese enterprises expanding overseas, and speeding up the city's innovation and technology advancement. Additionally, ACCA forecasts that Hong Kong will achieve a consolidated surplus of HK$4.1 billion for the 2025/26 fiscal year.

ACCA Hong Kong President Jacky Cheng stated that to capitalize on the current development momentum and transform it into sustained, high-quality growth, the government's strategic focus for 2026 and beyond should be on implementing forward-looking fiscal and social policies. This approach aims to consolidate existing achievements and proactively safeguard Hong Kong's future competitiveness.

ACCA emphasized that to ensure the long-term sustainability of Hong Kong's public finances, it recommends adopting a dual-track strategy centered on fiscal discipline and efficiency. This includes maintaining fiscal balance and avoiding a structural deficit through pragmatic expenditure control, enhancing the efficiency of public services, and ensuring new initiatives have sustainable funding sources. It also involves conducting a comprehensive review of all subsidy schemes and tax incentives to carefully assess their effectiveness and policy impact.

The association has put forward 15 specific proposals to the government. Regarding livelihood measures, it suggests raising the one-off tax reduction ceiling to HK$10,000; introducing a tax deduction for domestic helper expenses with a cap of HK$30,000; increasing the tax deduction limit for private health insurance under the Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme to HK$16,000; and raising the subsidy ceiling of the Continuing Education Fund to HK$40,000.

The association also proposed that the entertainment industry collaborate with the Kai Tak Sports Park to develop a year-round "concert economy." It believes the Northern Metropolis is a new engine for Hong Kong's future development and recommends introducing three tax loss offset policies for businesses establishing there: "group loss relief," "loss carry-forward credit," and "start-up loss cash-out." It also suggests providing tax incentives for capital expenditure by enterprises in the zone and introducing eligible refundable tax credits.

To consolidate Hong Kong's position as a leading platform for mainland enterprises expanding internationally, the association advises the government to actively negotiate more bilateral tax treaties with economies along the "Belt and Road" initiative and other key international economic partners. Offering preferential tax rates and a unilateral tax credit system for jurisdictions without bilateral tax agreements could attract multinational corporations to set up regional headquarters and service centers in Hong Kong.

Regarding innovation and technology development, the association recommends expanding the scope of deductible research and development expenses, and clarifying and broadening tax deductions for the acquisition of intellectual property.