Britain setting gold standard for changing from Brown to green

'Gordon Brown ended the freeze on petrol duty, doubled air passenger duty and announced a raft of initiatives to combat climate change today as he laid out what is expected to be his final Pre-Budget Report as Chancellor.'

The Times, December 6

IT IS A study in contrasts. In Britain chancellor Gordon Brown has just changed course on his tax policies and introduced a detailed schedule of green taxes to cut carbon emissions.

In Hong Kong Financial Secretary Henry Tang Ying-yen has just changed course on his tax policies and introduced, well ... nothing to replace his goods and services tax and certainly no comprehensive strategy to use revenue measures for environmental purposes.

You may say, of course, that we must wait for his budget speech in February. Leaving aside, however, that his boss, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, has already scooped him two months ago by delivering a budget disguised as a policy address, Henry has not left himself much room anyway.

His public consultation on broadening the tax base, although effectively nullified by his cancellation of its principal proposal, the GST, is still to run its full course, he says, and that course takes it well past his February budget date. He will scoop himself if he makes a complete mockery of it by presuming on its findings.