雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】OVER the past four months, Hong Kong's property prices have reached one high after another, with loopholes manifesting themselves in the package of government measures aimed to rein in speculation in the property market and help Hong Kong people buy their own homes. In One Kai Tak, there are dozens of cases in which buyers have been able to buy more than one flat each, while in other first-hand property markets, cases of "one contract for multiple flats" have increased sharply. Investors have left no stones unturned to circumvent the government's stamp duty policies aimed to cool the property market, showing that there is always a countermeasure against every measure issued from above. The government should close such loopholes as soon as possible to prevent speculators from gaming the system.

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本港私人住宅樓價連續4個月創新高，當局多項遏抑樓市炒風、協助港人置業的措施都出現漏洞，由「啟德1號」出現數十宗「一客多買」個案，到全港「一約多伙」一手成交合約急增，反映上有政策下有對策，投資客千方百計迴避住宅印花稅辣招。政府必須盡快堵塞漏洞，勿讓炒家再鑽空子。

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According to statistics, over the past five months, there have been 421 contracts that were entered into for more than one first-hand flat in Hong Kong's 28 new property projects. These contracts involve 956 apartments, which in total are worth more than $17 billion, or 26 percent of the whole amount of transaction over the same period. Since the government calculates stamp duty with one contract as the basic unit, some speculators have used one single contract to buy more than one flat to circumvent the market-cooling measures. What is ironic is that some of these buyers have made the purchases as "first-time buyers". One of them who claims to live in a "small- to medium-sized" flat has, for example, spent $145 million on 15 units of K. City at one go. These so-called "first-time buyers" are apparently not the people such policies are intended for.

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據統計，最近5個月全港主要28個新盤中，共有421份「一約多伙」一手成交合約，涉及956伙，總金額逾170億元，佔同期整個市場新盤成交金額26％。由於政府計算印花稅的方法，一直以每份合約文書作為基礎，一些炒家利用一張合約連購多個單位，避開辣招重稅。最諷刺的是，部分「一約多伙」買家竟是以「首置客」身分入市，例如有報稱居於中小型單位的「首置客」買家，一口氣斥資1.45億元購入啟德嘉匯15個單位。這類「首置客」顯然並非政策原意希望照顧的「上車客」。

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Such ridiculous things have happened primarily because the government's definition of "first-time buyers" is too lax–anyone who is "not holding any residential property" is eligible for the exemptions. This gives speculators an opportunity to game the system. All they have to do is transfer their ownership of property to someone else before buying a flat. In practice, this can mean buying a flat under the name of their children or family, or a husband and a wife forgoing joint ownership of property so that one of them can become "free" to purchase a flat as a "first-time buyer".

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情况如此荒謬，一大原因是當局對「首置客」的定義太寬鬆，凡是「未持有任何住宅物業」的買家都符合資格，令炒家有機會鑽空子，只要在買樓前將旗下物業轉名便可，具體操作手法可以是借子女或家人名義買樓，又或夫婦兩人放棄聯名擁有物業，「拆名」騰出一個「首置客」名額入市。

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Leung Chun-ying proposed the "Hong Kong land for Hong Kong people" policy when running for Chief Executive in 2012. The policy was aimed at helping the younger generation of middle-class people to buy their own homes, as they are not very well-off. However, the policy has been implemented in a way that departs from its original intention and has become an investment vehicle for speculators. Hence the situation of "one contract for two flats". In One Kai Tak, the first "Hong Kong land for Hong Kong people" project, 310 units of Phase 2, Block 3 have gone on sale lately. 30 contracts were entered into for more than one flat. In total, 60 flats are involved, and they account for nearly 20 percent of all the flats that have been put on sale. Some of these flats are not adjacent to each other. Nevertheless, all these buyers made the purchase as "first-time buyers", meaning that they are exempt from paying the extra stamp duty. The Conditions of Sale of One Kai Tak state that the residential flats cannot be resold within 30 years unless otherwise approved. Owners who want to lease out the flats must file an application with the Lands Department, and the period of the lease must not be longer than five years. Such arrangements were intended to discourage speculators and investors. However, the land lease does not specify that each buyer can only buy one residential flat. This has become one of the major loopholes of the policy.

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梁振英2012年競選時提出「港人港地」政策，協助負擔能力不高的年輕中產「上車」自住，然而落實起來同樣偏離了政策原意，淪為投資工具，出現「一約兩伙」情况。港人港地首個項目「啟德1號」最新開賣的二期第三座310個單位，30張合約屬「一客多買」，涉及60伙，佔單位總數近兩成，部分並非相連單位，所有買家均是以「首置客」身分購入單位，獲豁免繳付「辣招稅」。啟德1號賣地條款訂明，除非獲特殊豁免，否則住宅單位30年內不得轉讓，業主若想出租，亦須向地政總署遞交申請文件，租賃年期不得超過5年。有關安排本意是要令炒家和投資客知難而退，可是地契條款並未限制每個業主只能購買一個住宅單位，卻成為了一大漏洞。

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The situations of both "one contract for multiple flats" and "one buyer buying multiple flats" show that the government's measures to curb speculation contain loopholes, which should be closed as soon as possible. It is necessary for the government to so amend the regulations on stamp duty as to calculate the duty with the number of flats–instead of the number of contracts–as the basic unit. It must also tighten the definition of "first-time buyers" in order to prevent investors from circumventing the measures.

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無論是「一約多伙」還是「一客多買」，均反映當局阻遏炒賣措施存在漏洞，需要盡快堵塞。政府有必要修訂印花稅條例，改以購買伙數而非合約份數作為徵稅單位，同時考慮收緊「首置客」的定義，令投資客不能迴避辣招稅。

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明報社評2017.04.04

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Mr KWOK, Tony Chun-tung

Lecturer

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/language_communication/KWOK,_Tony_Chun-tung-111.html

王翔

講師

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/language_communication/WANG,_Iris_Xiang-342.html

【Bilingual Editorial】