“Hong Kong’s tax policies were the polar opposite of those pursued by Britain over the same period. Where Britain – and most of the West – had high levels of taxation, government spending, deficit financing, industrial planning and economic intervention, Hong Kong went the other way. Most people – ‘all but the well to do’ paid no income tax at all.

Even higher earners only paid 15%. There were no tariffs or duties, no sales taxes or VAT, no taxes on capital gains, on interest or on overseas earnings. But there was a land value tax. The overall tax burden never exceeded 14% of GDP.”

~ Daylight Robbery: How Tax Shaped Our Past and Will Change Our Future by Dominic Frisby.