Mandy Tam

Mandy Tam

Mandy Tam Heung-man (Traditional Chinese: 譚香文; born 8 June 1957 in Hong Kong) is a former member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. She is a tax advisor and also a newspaper columnist for the Hong Kong Economic Journal and other publications.

Political career

In 2003 Tam was elected a district councillor for Wong Tai Sin. In 2004 she was elected to Legco representing the accountancy functional constituency seat. She stood for and lost the seat in the 2008 Legislative Council elections.^[1]

In 2006, she was a founding member of the Civic Party but quit in June 2009.^[1]

GST survey

In mid-September 2006, during a period of 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 Middlesex University. 311 out of 26,000 of the territory's accountants responded to the survey, of which 62 percent opposed a GST. In the report, Tam concluded that the majority of respondents opposed a GST, and further suggested that the government should look into other means to broaden its tax base.^[2] However, with a response rate of just 1.2 percent, many doubted its accuracy. In a response letter from the HKICPA, the institute also expresses doubt on her findings.^[3]

Dispute with HKICPA

On 9 October 2006, the HKICPA issued a letter to all its members notifying them that the Institute had made a decision to stop the distribution of 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 means to communicate with those who are eligible, 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 had also openly criticized the Institute in two Chinese newspapers in Hong Kong on various matters which further shakened the already fragile relationship between her and the Institute. HKICPA had come to see the need to maintain its independence and to clearly segregate itself from Tam's personal viewpoints.

Tam wrote to discuss the issue with HKICPA, which replied reaffirming its decision. Tam then sought judiciary review and went on to win the legal battle, resuming the distribution of her newsletter to the members of the institute.^[4]

ICAC charge

In October 2010, Tam was charged by the Independent Commission Against Corruption with engaging in corrupt conduct in the 2008 Legislative Council elections for "[offering] an advantage, namely service in the form of a free seminar to other persons as an inducement for them to vote for her at the election." Tam said the prosecution was politically motivated. Lawmakers including Audrey Eu and Paul Chan expressed concern. On 23 November 2010, she pleaded not guilty and the case was postponed to 16 February 2011.^[1][5][6]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Tsang, Phyllis; Ambrose Leung (28 Oct 2010). "Ex-lawmaker on vote-inducement charge". SCMP. http://www.scmp.com/portal/site/SCMP/menuitem.2af62ecb329d3d7733492d9253a0a0a0/?vgnextoid=4392a8dc43eeb210VgnVCM100000360a0a0aRCRD&ss=&s=News. Retrieved 28 Oct 2010. 
2. ^ Report of GST survey on Hong Kong Accountants (in Chinese)
3. ^ A response letter from HKICPA to Tam, 9 October 2006
4. ^ Court Judgement - August 28, 2007
5. ^ Mandy Tam denies poll bribery charge, SCMP, 24 Nov 2010
6. ^ Tam denies corrupt conduct charge, China Daily, Joseph Li, 24 Nov 2010

Legislative Council of Hong Kong
Preceded by Eric Li	Member of Legislative Council Representative for Accountancy constituency 2004 – 2008	Succeeded by Paul Chan

Persondata
Name	Tam, Mandy
Alternative names
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Date of birth	8 June 1957
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death