Legislators have expressed concern that the proposed law to allow the government to send details on individuals suspected of evading tax to authorities abroad will lead to privacy invasion and data abuse.
Their concerns came as officials introduced the proposed legislative amendment at a meeting of the Legislative Council's financial affairs panel yesterday.
The measures will expand the Inland Revenue Department's power to provide overseas authorities with details on a taxpayer or related person.
They will also enable the city to adopt the latest international standards for exchange of information on the comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements, also known as CDTAs.
'Will there be a special mechanism to assess if the requests made [by overseas authorities] are reasonable and legal?' Civic Party lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah asked. 'For example, if the US passes a law which requires everyone to pay it taxes, and if it asks us for information based on that, do we need to provide it with data on every Hongkonger?'
Other legislators, including Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung and Chan Kin-por, also expressed concerns.