A FEW politicians have been grumbling that the Governor should pay tax on his income, backing this crazy notion by citing that he should follow the (blatantly forced) offer by the Queen to cough up into the taxman's treasure trove.

Absolutely no comparison can be drawn between Mr Patten's circumstances and those of Her Majesty. Instead one should liken his case to those at senior posts in Hongkong companies.

If an employer offers a financial package to an individual, it should be honoured. It would be totally unethical, downright unfair, and probably actionable for a boss to force a change in an employee's contract once the individual moves wife (formerly employed in Britain) and family to the other side of the world.

So the Governor gets $178,000 a month tax free. The figure is still considerably less than the net income of many heads of major Hongkong companies. So he gets $463,000 a year entertainment allowance - not excessive if you have to entertain top international politicians and businessmen.