The letters page of the SCMP can be a dangerous place. Take this rant from today's paper:

I am fed up with hearing the refrain that many people fall outside the direct tax net (82 per cent of the population, says Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce chief executive Eden Woon Yi-teng; 42 per cent of the workforce, says Post columnist Tom Holland).

In fact, most of the workforce pays indirectly by being deprived of decent salaries and because there is no minimum wage. They also indirectly pay rates (if they rent public or private units) as well as tax. Yet they have as much right to a democratic life as Mr Woon. These are people who do not get the huge bonuses paid to company directors, nor do they have very high salaries and benefits, such as the pensions of senior civil servants. They are the poor, who work for little, contribute hugely to the economy and have little to show when they retire without a pension. Their homes are often small, they have to apply for education waivers and may yet face the prospect of applying for charity for health care, if hospital charges rise.

They will not be able to afford health insurance, for which taxpayers may get tax breaks, nor will they get tax allowances for children and housing. Our financial secretary showed much more concern for the "haves", that is, the Liberal Party voters, than the "have nots".

Speaking at an impromptu media gathering at the authority's headquarters Monday, Solomon said one of the things that intrigued him was that Hong Kong has a low tax policy and a highly subsidized health-care system at the same time.

"Of course, my view is superficial at this stage, but from observation it is a country with very low taxation and a highly subsidized health system ... a bit unusual," he said.