Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme
Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme (VHIS) is a policy initiative implemented by the Food and Health Bureau to regulate individual indemnity hospital insurance products, with voluntary participation by insurance companies and the public.
Effective from 1 April 2019, Hong Kong salaries taxpayer who or whose spouse is the policyholder of a policy issued under a Certified Plan of VHIS may claim tax deductions up to HK$8,000 per insured person for the premiums paid in relation to the Certified Plan. The insured person of the Certified Plan should be the taxpayer or any specified relatives, which cover the taxpayer's spouse and children, and the taxpayer's or his/her spouse's grandparents, parents and siblings.
Tax deductible voluntary contributions
To encourage voluntary savings for retirement and starting from 1 April 2019, making contributions into a new type of Mandatory Provident Fund contributions may be deducted from taxable salary income commencing from the tax year of assessment 2019/2020.
Statutory minimum wage
The statutory minimum wage rate will be raised from HK$34.5 to HK$37.5 per hour with effect from 1 May 2019.
Maternity leave
The HKSAR Government proposed to extend the statutory maternity leave (ML) from 10 weeks to 14 weeks.
Cost for the extra 4 weeks’ ML pay would be 100% borne by the Government. The employer should first pay the employee on the normal pay day and then seek reimbursement from the Government upon production of payment proof.