To help the territory raise revenue, cut expenditure, and boost up the economy, the third Policy Address by Macao Special Administrative Region Chief Executive introduced “professional tax,” a literal translation from the Portuguese term “imposto professional” for income tax, imposed on civil servants and teachers for the first time. It will be put into practice in the middle of this fiscal year.
Ms. Heong Peng Ho, principal of the Seong Fan Secondary School, said that it was the social responsibility and it was fair for everybody to pay for the professional tax. “Of course, we feel little unhappy for the decision, because we always receive the subsidies from the government,” she said.
Ms. Ho also pointed out that the salary of one private secondary school teachers was between $8,000 and $15,000 per month. Therefore the teacher should pay about $2,090 to $14,300 professional tax per year. It would reduce the amount from $104,000~$195,000 to $101,910 ~$180,700 per year from their revenue after tax payment.
Since the teaching salary has not been raised five to six years, Ms. Ho emphasised that their income would become less due to the new tax payment. “Many teachers really feel unhappy about this,” she said.
| Courtesy of Ms. Sin Peng Lau |
 |
| Ms. Sin Peng Lau, vice president of Chinese Educators' Association of Macau |
Ms. Sin Peng Lau, vice president of the Chinese Educators' Association of Macau, commented that the teaching staff and other professionals of education should pay for the professional tax because of social responsibility. They have already prepared for paying the taxes.
“A teacher should act as a good example and practise social responsibilities. However, the salaries of the teachers have not been raised for many years. Many teachers are still facing difficulties of paying the instalment of houses and their children's school fees. Taxes will increase their expenses and decrease their living standards,” Ms. Lau commented.
Ms. Lau hoped that the government would pay more attention to teachers and help solve their problems.
“Although the subsidies of private schools' teachers in Macao have been increased recently, their subsidies are lower than what those who are working in the government schools receive,” Ms. Lau continued.
The statistics of the number of the students in each school in 2002 offered by the Education and Youth Affairs Department revealed that the number of the private school students was much higher than that of government schools. The private secondary schools received about 3051 students in 2002 while the public ones received only about 1036.
Ms. Lau also said, “Teachers' concerns include the difference in the amount of salaries and heavy work load. Although the costs of the private schools are lower, the teachers need to teach about 50 to 60 students per class,” she continued, “Two teachers are usually facing the work load of three teachers. This does not mean more rewards for more work; a teacher needs to attend classes, grade homework, make exams, grade exams, and handles students' problems. This is too much work for them.”
Many private schools were working hard to receive students in order to increase the revenue. This revenue could help to improve school environment and equipment quality. According to Article 39 of the Law 11/91/M promulgated on 29 August 1991, the collection of tuition will totally support the general expenses of the operation of the educational institutions, including expenses related to the improvement of the studying environment and of education quality.
“Since the teachers have too much work to do, they do not have much time left for their students. We feel that the teachers could not do too much about this,” said Ms. Lau.
She said that the taxation was a critical issue and suggested that the government should restrict the number of students, hiring more teachers, and offering more subsidies for improving teaching environment. This could better allocate the work load that each teacher should face and enough time could be then allocated to each of their students.
| Salary Per Month | Income Per Year | Professional Tax Per Year | Income after Tax Payment Per Year |
|
| Private School | $8,000~$15,000 | $104,000~$195,000 | $2,090~$15,400 | $101,910 ~$179,600 |
| Government School | About $21,500 | $301,000 | $32,400 | $268,600 |
| University | $22,000~$35,000 | $286,000~$455,000 | $28,140~$55,500 | $257,860 ~$399,500 |
| EQUATION of professional tax = (Income Per Year - $85,000) x tax% | ||||