Tax waived for residents affected by Tai Po fire

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has announced that property owners and residents affected by the Tai Po fire will not need to settle the tax demand notes issued to them for the 2024-25 assessment year.

To ease the financial burden on Wang Fuk Court residents and the families of the deceased during this difficult time, the SAR government will waive the affected property owners' and residents' unsettled balance of tax payable for the 2024-25 assessment year, and the provisional tax payable for the 2025-26 assessment year.

"We will also pay the government rent on behalf of the affected property owners and residents and waive the rates for domestic tenements that became uninhabitable due to the fire," a government spokesman said in a statement on Wednesday night.

The SAR government will also waive Wang Fuk Court residents' water and sewage charges from July to November this year.

Regarding electricity tariffs and telecommunications service fees, CLP Power Hong Kong has already waived the November electricity tariffs for the affected customers. It will arrange deposit refunds as soon as possible.

FOLLOW LIVE UPDATES: Tai Po fire

The fatal fire, which originated on Nov 26 and could only be brought under control after 43 hours, tore through seven out of eight buildings of the housing estate, claiming 159 lives so far.

Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu has urged all government departments to be considerate to the fire-affected residents and provide as much support to them as possible by flexibly handling relevant government fees and bills.

Telecommunications operators have offered service fee waivers, free rental of smartphones and free pre-paid SIM cards, while Sinopec (Hong Kong) Gas Company has offered a full waiver of November liquefied petroleum gas bills for all its customers affected by the deadly fire.

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The Immigration Department has waived service charges for residents to replace their identity documents.

All injured individuals admitted to public hospitals under the Hospital Authority will receive full fee waivers for all necessary healthcare services, including drugs and medical devices, throughout the entire process of their treatment and rehabilitation.

The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will waive fees for columbarium and related services.