Legislative Councillors were in general pleased with the 2007-08 budget presented by Financial Secretary Henry Tang, the fourth and the last in his current term.

At yesterday's LegCo Finance Committee meeting, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB), the Democratic Party and Liberal Party were, by and large, happy with the tax measures that cost the government some HK$20 billion as a result of a HK$55.1-billion surplus.

"It is a rather successful budget even though it cannot fully satisfy certain people," said the DAB's Chan Kam-lam. "In particular, the reduction of duty on wines will help develop Hong Kong as a wine distribution center."

He was pleased with the travelling allowances scheme for people living in remote districts to find jobs across the districts, and he hoped the same allowances could also be offered to the elderly and handicapped people for their transport needs.

The Democratic Party's Lee Wing-tat also said the budget was on the whole quite a good one as it benefits both the middle class and poor people.

Several other legislators, including Abraham Shek who represents the construction and real estate sectors, worried that the HK$29 billion set aside for infrastructure projects might not be able to help resolve the unemployment problem in construction sector.

Responding to the comments, Tang said the government has always been caring for the under-privileged people and he considered the tax concession and rebate measures on the basis of affordability. "That's why I set aside more money to help the grassroots and have not reduced the standard tax rates," he explained.