404
What is your motivation for wanting to degrade our CofS?
Not degrading anyone's conditions - mine (and a few hundred others') just improved in fact. Not saying either that this isn't less than what the equivalent experience bought you in CX (as an expat) just a few years ago - it certainly is. Again - just trying to get some perspective and say there isn't a lot better out there, and what is being offered will let you live to a reasonable standard in HK.
Point by point:
Most expats couldn’t live in the areas you are comfortable with
I don't live in Mei Foo or Tai Wai either and wouldn't want to.
Most expats won’t be single very long.
Maybe not - neither am I, as I have said. My local package supports us just fine.
Upgrades from S/O to JFO when I started were running at 18 months. They are now running at about four years and will most likely blow out to 6+ years if CX starts crewing long haul flights with two SO’s. Yearly pay increment for SO’s stops at year four.
Upgrades to JFO when I joined were three years. 6+? We'll see, but that's not what we're discussing. If you can live on $45k in HK at SO year 1, you can live on whatever you go up to in the future.
The new house assistance of HK$10000.00 isn’t indexed to the Hong Kong Housing Index and therefore isn’t indexed for inflation.
Neither is your salary. Didn't stop us from asking for more salary last year, and most likely won't stop us from asking for more allowance in the future. I'm not even thinking of this as housing, but as an increase to my salary.
After tax on the housing assistance you are only left with HK$8300.00.
17% tax? When was the last time you paid that much? Standard rate is capped at a max of 15%.
The HK$1,100,000.00 forgivable loan after 6 years ROS to CX is 100% taxable by the IRD and if you are from the US by the IRS. That would be an interesting tax bill. Even if the entire loan is used to pay for the training in Adelaide it is 100% taxable as it is now considered income.
Really? And you're source of that advice is? Don't know about the US, but I think that only "income derived from employment" is taxable. If any part of the loan is paid out in cash, yes taxable - that's income. Otherwise, why wouldn't all current cadets have to pay tax on their training in Adelaide? Same principle.