Greetings from Canada. I'd spent a few days in Hong Kong's smoggy but still-clean-enough-to-be-enjoyed air before coming back.
I'd learnt long ago that Hong Kong's public transit system sustains itself on rider fares alone without any government subsidy. More recently I'd learnt that Hong Kong imposes a 100% carbon tax and yet its economy is still obviously thriving.
How does Hong Kong pull it off? My guess is that it has to do with a more user-pay tax system. Aside from the carbon tax, it has no value-added tax like the GST and charges income tax only to those earning well above the poverty line.
It also does not waste money on ethnic policy like the official languages act. Sure it's trilingual (Cantonese, Mandarin and English), but only in some government services. The private sector is almost entirely monolingually Cantonese though often Mandarin except in the tourist centres so as to not waste their precious English resources.
Subway fares are also more user-pay. You clock in and out to determine the fare based on how far you traveled. That way those who choose to live close to work aren't subsidizing the fares of those who choose to live far from work.
Immigration is far more efficient too. To Hong Kong, I filled a paper to present with my oassport, the agent did not even ask any questions, checked that my face matched the picture, and off I went.
Of course Hong Kong's low tariffs help too.
I'd learnt long ago that Hong Kong's public transit system sustains itself on rider fares alone without any government subsidy. More recently I'd learnt that Hong Kong imposes a 100% carbon tax and yet its economy is still obviously thriving.
How does Hong Kong pull it off? My guess is that it has to do with a more user-pay tax system. Aside from the carbon tax, it has no value-added tax like the GST and charges income tax only to those earning well above the poverty line.
It also does not waste money on ethnic policy like the official languages act. Sure it's trilingual (Cantonese, Mandarin and English), but only in some government services. The private sector is almost entirely monolingually Cantonese though often Mandarin except in the tourist centres so as to not waste their precious English resources.
Subway fares are also more user-pay. You clock in and out to determine the fare based on how far you traveled. That way those who choose to live close to work aren't subsidizing the fares of those who choose to live far from work.
Immigration is far more efficient too. To Hong Kong, I filled a paper to present with my oassport, the agent did not even ask any questions, checked that my face matched the picture, and off I went.
Of course Hong Kong's low tariffs help too.
