Hong Kong cash surplus hits record but critics hit out at budget

Hong Kong Wednesday reported a record surplus of almost US$18 billion thanks to a red-hot property market and announced wide-ranging tax cuts in its annual budget, but critics said the measures did too little to help the city's poor.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the business hub had amassed a HK$138 billion ($17.7 billion) budget surplus and he wanted to "share the fruits of our economic success with the community".

He unveiled plans to slash salaries tax by up to 75 percent, with a ceiling of HK$30,000, a move which he said would benefit almost two million people.

There were also payments of HK$2,000 to students in need, along with extra welfare allowances for the poor, the disabled and the elderly.

But there was no one-off cash handout to all permanent residents, as some had called for.