Mandy Tam
| Mandy Tam Heung-man | |
|---|---|
| 譚香文 | |
 |
|
| Member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong | |
|
In office 1 October 2004 – 30 September 2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Eric Li |
| Succeeded by | Paul Chan Mo-po |
| Constituency | Accountancy |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
8 June 1957 Ho Man Tin, British Hong Kong |
| Nationality | Hong Kong |
| Political party |
Civic Party (2006–09) People Power/The Frontier (2013–16) |
| Residence | Hong Kong |
| Alma mater | Middlesex University (BA) |
| Occupation | Accountant, politician |
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.
In 2003 Tam was elected a district councillor for Wong Tai Sin. In 2004 she was elected to the Legislative Council (colloquially known as "LegCo") representing the accountancy functional constituency seat. She stood for and lost the seat in the 2008 Legislative Council elections. In 2006, she was a founding member of the Civic Party, but left in June 2009. She was embroiled in two separate controversies, one with the HKICPA, a professional body whose members are electors of the accountancy functional constituency of the LegCo; the second one was a result of what was perceived to be a politically motivated charge of voting corruption.
In both cases, Tam's conduct was ultimately vindicated by the Court. Although she is no longer active in party politics, she has continued writing on political issues and contributing as a newspaper columnist for the Hong Kong Economic Journal, one of a very few organs in the local mainstream media known for their critical stance towards the HKSAR and the Mainland Chinese administrations.
In mid-September 2006, during a period of heated debate on the Hong Kong Government's plan to introduce GST (General Sales Tax), Tam released the interim results of a survey on attitudes towards the introduction of the GST, independently conducted by the East Asia Work Based Learning Centre of Middlesex University. After initial reluctance, the survey questionnaires were distributed by the HKICPA, the professional body representing certified public accountants in Hong Kong, alongside an editorial by the President of the Institute stating the body's support for the GST proposal. Only 311 out of circa 26,000 of the territory's accountants responded to the survey; of those who have responded, 62 percent opposed the introduction of a General Sales Tax. In a report of the survey findings, 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. However, with a response rate of just 1.2 percent, many questioned the validity of the survey findings. In a response letter to the report, the HKICPA expresses doubt on Tam's interpretation of the survey findings.
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