Should we keep paying tax?
I AM not surprised that people consider tax evasion more acceptable than the theft of stationery from one's employer.
After all, the stationery belongs to someone else, whereas the money which is not paid to the government belongs, in the first instance, to the tax evader.
The question is whether the government is justified in demanding the money from the individual.
The answer depends on whether the government is truly representative and operates under procedures which ensure that principles of natural justice prevail.
Although I do not condone the evasion of tax in Hong Kong, it must be admitted that there is some doubt as to whether the Hong Kong Government is justified in continuing to tax the people at a time when there is a gigantic surplus of government funds which are not being spent.
As a matter of principle, no government has the right to keep surplus funds unless it is foreseen that the funds will be expended on specific public projects in the near future.
Can one say this about the large surplus that has been built up by the Hong Kong Government? JEFFERSON VANDERWOLK Lecturer Faculty of Law The University of Hong Kong
