What is salary tax?(English)

SALARIES TAX [ST] (not salary tax) is imposed on all income arising in or derived from HK from an office or employment or any pension. In deciding whether income “arises in or is derived from HK”, it is necessary to establish where the employment, the source of income, is located. “Income arising in or derived from HK” includes all income derived from services rendered in HK. Special provisions apply to crews of ships and aircrafts who visit HK for short spans of time and persons who have paid tax of substantially the same nature as HK ST in any territory outside HK.

“Income from any office or employment” includes all forms of income and
perquisites from the employer and others. Award of shares and share option gain are chargeable income. For share option gains, the gain will be taxable when the option is exercised, assigned or released. Even if the share option is exercised after the employee has left the employment, the gain is still taxable.

Income also includes “rental value” in respect of a place of residence provided rent-free by the employer or an associated corporation of the employer (including cases of reimbursements of rent paid by employees directly to their landlords). If the place of residence provided is a flat or a serviced apartment, the “rental value” to be included in the assessment is 10% of the total income (after deducting outgoings (except expenses of self-education), depreciation, etc.) from the employer and the associated corporation of the employer. If the place of residence is in a hotel, hostel or boarding house, the rental value is 8% (for 2 rooms) or 4% (for one room) of the total income after appropriate deductions. If the employer provided a flat and specified that it was to be shared by more than one employee, the computation of the rental value is the same as that for a hotel, hostel or boarding house.

From 1.4.2003 onwards, all holiday journey benefits provided by the employer are chargeable to tax.

From IRD Website

Salary===payment of money or benifits from regular employment by the employer; the amount of salary will be paid on monthly or quarterly or yearly basis which will be depended on the contract;
Salary Tax===the annual total amount of salary which is levied according to the limit of personal taxable amount by the Revenue and Taxation Department..