A Bad Tax, By Any Other Name

The Hong Kong government recently announced its intention to introduce a lump sum levy of HK$9,600 on employers of foreign domestic helpers at the time the employment contract is approved, effective from October 1st. It further announced that it would reduce the minimum salary level of the helpers by HK$400 per month from April 1st. Over a standard two-year employment contract, this means that the lump sum employers’ levy is exactly equal to the total salary reduction. On the reasonable assumption that employers would reduce their employees’ wages to the new minimum, employers would thus carry no extra financial burden as a result of the new measures. This would fall entirely on the shoulders of the domestic helpers
themselves.

家傭稅估計可為政府帶來 10 億元的稅收， 但難免被視為帶有歧視性。政府引入這稅項時，未顧及對香港作為國際都會的負面影響， 恐怕只會得不償失。