Mandy Tam
Mandy Tam Heung-man (Traditional Chinese: 譚香文, born 8 June, 1957) is a member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. She is also a newspaper columnist for the Hong Kong Economic Journal and other publications.
GST survey
In mid-September 2006, while there are heated debate on the Hong Kong Government's plan to introduce GST, Tam released the interim results of a GST survey, conducted by the East Asia Work Based Learning Centre of the Middlesex University. 311 out of 26,000 of the territory's accountants responded to the survey, of which 62 percent oppose a GST. In the report, Tam concluded that the majority of respondents oppose a GST, and further suggested that the government should look into other means to broaden its tax base. [1] However, with the response rate of just 1.2 percent, many doubt its accuracy. In a response letter from the HKICPA, the institute also expresses doubt on her findings.[2]
Dispute with HKICPA
On 9 October 2006, the HKICPA issued a letter to all its members notifying that the Institute has made a decision to stop distributing Tam's newsletter to its members. The newsletter distribution service had been undertaken by the Institute for the LegCo member for the accountancy functional constituency for nearly 20 years as a mean to communicate with those who are or potentially eligible to vote in the accountancy functional constituency.
The decision was made over concerns that in the view of HKICPA, Tam has adopted an increasingly political stance on many issues. Tam also openly critised the Institute in two Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong on various matters. This further shaken the already fragile relationship between her and the Institute, which has since sees the need to maintain its indepdendence and to clearly segregate itself from Tam's own viewpoints.
Tam has written to discuss the issue with HKICPA, which has since replied reaffirming its decision. Tam then seek judiciary review and went on the won the legal battle, resuming the distribution of her newsletter to the members of the institute.[3]
References
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