Asian Countries Protest Hong Kong's Planned Tax On Domestic Workers

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

07 January 2003

According to an Associated Press report published at the weekend, poor Asian countries have been exerting pressure on the Hong Kong government not to go ahead with controversial proposals to tax low-paid foreign domestic workers in the SAR.

Most vociferous in the campaign have been the Philippines and Indonesia, which supply the territory with around 153,000 and 70,000 domestic workers respectively. However, other countries in the region, including Nepal, Thailand, and Sri Lanka have also voiced their opposition to the plan.

It has been estimated that taxing Hong Kong's numerous foreign maids could assist in easing the government's current budget woes, bringing in a predicted HK$1.2 billion in additional revenue per year.

However, the countries from which the majority of affected workers come are concerned as to the effect that such a move could have on their own economies, given that many of the foreign maids in question send money home to support family members.

Speaking to the AP, Philippine Consul General, Victoria Bataclan warned that the imposition of a HK$500 monthly tax on the wages of each foreign-born domestic worker would be: 'inequitable, discriminatory and would not be in the mutual interests of everyone.'

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