The wine and spirits industry on Wednesday said Hong Kong's reduction in duty on premium spirits won't have a huge effect on the sector, or the public. The duty on liquor with an alcohol content above 30 percent and with an import price of over HK$200 has been cut from 100 percent to 10 percent for the portion above HK$200. The Hong Kong General Chamber of Wine and Spirits welcomed the move, but said the change will only be noticed when it comes to luxury products. "I think it's not easy for the industry, also for the catering sector to slash prices at this moment. I think it only benefits those expensive items, for example, [those with a] retail price of over HK$1,000," Raymond Luk, who chairs the chamber's economic policy and social affairs committee, told RTHK. Eric Man, general manager at Wai Shing Wine and Spirits, said only around 20 percent of customers buy spirits that are priced over HK$1,000. "We originally hoped that citizens would be able to use around HK$500 to HK$800 to buy and enjoy liquor of better quality. But the policy now... consumers will still have to increase their budget to get better spirits, it is hard to tell whether they will be willing to do that," he said. Man said he would like to see the HK$200 threshold for the duty cut reduced by half, so more kinds of liquor would be covered. Luk added that such a move would increase the competitiveness of Hong Kong's liquor market. "For the current rates under the new policy, we are still the highest in East Asia. But in the long term, I think it's possible that we'll gain an increased appeal as a high-end spirit destination due to the reduction in taxes, as well as the speeding up of the development of activities related to high-end prestige spirits like trading, distribution and auctions," he said. Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the import price of 85 percent of liquor in Hong Kong is HK$200 or below, which means only 15 percent of liquor will be covered by the duty cut.
