They found me

After 8 months of tax free living, the HK Inland Revenue Department finally found me. There is no withholding tax in HK, so you get whatever it says on your pay check. Neat, huh?

But you can't spend the money either, because in HK, you pay tax IN ADVANCE. Yes, mahusay talaga ang mga Instik (no offense meant, S.). They assess you on the basis of your declared income (your employer declares that for you so you don't try to do anything funny) and then they multiply that amount by 2.

Yes, 2.

So you pay tax "in advance". How you get back the year you pay in advance I don't really know. Do they give it to your estate? I can understand why lessors or utility companies ask for an advance. They apply it to your last bill. I'm pretty sure you will need to pay tax on your last year of income.

It's a good thing tax rates here are at less than 15%. Even if I pay for two years, I still come out paying less than what I do at home.

...

Wait I just figured it out. It took them 8 months to find me. And I'm not expected to pay tax until another 3-4 months. That's a year with no tax. That's where the "extra" year went.

Stupid Silly me.