It is extremely difficult to justify proposing a new tax now, when the public coffers are flooded with cash. The financial secretary had an embarrassing budget surplus on his hands recently, and wondered aloud whether to reduce taxation or to give away cash. And we'll probably have another - even larger - budget surplus in the current financial year. We do not have a cash-shortage problem, so why do we need a new tax?

The government can talk about the need to broaden the tax base. But then again, we are coping well with our current taxation base. If it ain't broke, why fix it?

The government missed a golden opportunity to introduce a GST when budget deficits were common, and structural problems were widely seen as the cause. Then we clearly did have a problem, and people were willing to listen to possible solutions.

But the Tung administration did not have the guts to push through the necessary reform, and its procrastination led to the current, wrong consultation at the wrong time.

Taxation means taking money from some people. Those whose money is taken will invariably protest. But a GST is worse than many forms of taxation, as it levies payments from everybody. Worse still, it takes proportionally more money from the poor than from the rich. This time, everybody will say 'no' and can claim the tax is unfair.

The way the government structured the proposed GST package makes it still more unfair. First, it inexplicably exempted property and financial transactions, which affect the well-to-do and involve lower administrative costs. Second, the proposal would lower all direct taxation items - such as income tax, which are supposed to tax richer people - to make it more attractive to the upper and middle classes.

This clearly smells of robbing the poor to benefit the rich. Judging from the initial reactions, there are far more people against a GST than in support of it. One thing is for sure: it will never pass the Legislative Council.

A better way to sell the GST would be to tell citizens the plain truth: under the current taxation regime, it will be difficult to continue financing growing medical and welfare costs, given our rapidly ageing population. If the issue were framed that way, a GST would seem reasonable - taking money from everybody to help mainly the poor and the aged.

Our high-paid government officials are not stupid: they know that such an approach would seem fairer. And the official spin doctors are more than capable of making a GST look more equitable - but they chose not to.

From the outset, the government has been taking a rare, neutral stance, and will not seriously defend the tax. Officials know full-well that the proposal will be shot down anyway.

It is perception that counts, and this is a classic example of smart political spinning.

Please remember, the 800-member Election Committee is composed of the cream of Hong Kong, and they will appreciate Mr Tsang's position. As we enter election season, more such political manoeuvres from different candidates will surface.

This is all part of a process they call democracy, you know.

Lau Nai-keung is a Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference delegate