Saturday 9th December 2006

Dear Reader,

The Government has dropped its push for GST, so that saves us writing a few more articles, although they persist with the myth that our tax base is "too narrow" which is a euphemism for "too few people pay direct taxes". The power brokers are terrified that if they give the people democracy then the people will turn HK into a social-welfare state, as opposed to the current corporate-welfare state. What the proposal was really about was buried in paragraph 46 of the consultation paper - "enhancing the community's sense of civic responsibility" - in other words, "no representation without taxation". Hang on a minute - haven't they got that the wrong way round?

Anyway, the notion of reforming the tax system to remove inequities and increase economic efficiency is a valid one, which brings us on to today's article...

NEW ARTICLE
The Housing Lark (9-Dec-06)
Why does the HK Government continue prosecuting civil servants and educators for maximising their remuneration by claiming rental allowances which, if they didn't own the property, they would be entitled to anyway? Surely people should be paid what they are worth to an employer, not based on what they own. We also look at the tax loophole which incentivises rental allowances in the first place.
http://webb-site.com/articles/housinglark.asp
 

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