Book Description

This book tells an instructive tale of Hong Kong's tax system from 1940 (when taxes on income were first introduced in the territory) until the present day. For Hong Kong's own historians and political scientists, it supplies cogent but previously neglected evidence of the influence of the territory's business interests. For students of British imperialism, it provides a compelling case-study of relations between London and a recalcitrant colony. For Hong Kong's own tax profession, it corrects the notion that the territory's tax system was the product of governmental design. And for tax theorists and taxpayers everywhere, it suggests how it might be possible to structure a combination of very light taxes and very low public spending so as to win broad popular support.--Michael Littlewood is a member of the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, where he teaches tax. His work has been published in the U.S., the U.K., Hong Kong, China, the Netherlands, Australia and New Zealand. He lived in Hong Kong from 1989 until 2003.--"An excellent read ... partly a matter of 'who done it?' but, even more so, of 'how did they get away with it?' Dr. Littlewood's book will prove indispensable for anyone wanting to use the Hong Kong precedent to argue for a flat rate tax system in their own country." - John Tiley, Professor of Tax Law, University of Cambridge--"Fascinating ... [This book is] a first-rate history and raises troubling questions about the necessity of linking taxes and democratic choice. The book also raises intriguing doubts about whether low taxes and low services may be an acceptable alternative model to the prevalent high-tax, high-services Western welfare state. This book should be required reading for students of political science, history, sociology and law." - Reuven Avi-Yonah, Irwin I. Kohn Professor of Law, University of Michigan-----