The Hong Kong government is considering the introduction of a tax
on internet use which would charge users for each minute they are
on-line, according to a report today in the South China Morning
Post.
The Hong Kong government is considering the introduction of a tax
on internet use which would charge users for each minute they are
on-line, according to a report today in the South China Morning
Post based on an article which appeared in a local Chinese-language
paper, the Hong Kong Globe. The South China Morning Post observes
that such a tax might threaten the continued growth of e-commerce
in the territory.
The initial rate for the tax is expected to be HK$0.01 per
minute (around £0.05 per hour), generating an estimated revenue of
around HK$150 million (£13 million) per year for the government.
The figure is described as being only a test figure, which will be
raised if the model revenue works. It could be introduced as early
as 3rd March, the beginning of the next financial year.
The tax is expected to be easy to administer because all
internet users in Hong Kong presently pay a “public non-exclusive
telecom (PNET) surcharge” of 2.3 cents per minute to Pacific
Century CyberWorks, irrespective of which ISP they use, in addition
to telephone and ISP costs.
