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Budgetary considerations
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With the completion of these proposals it is estimated that annually recurrent costs (including subventions) would have
increased from $460 m. in 1974-75 to about $900 m. at current
prices.
13.2
Leaving aside for the moment these quite considerable
recurrent cost implications, the first budgetary problem which
arises is the planning of the capital spending involved in
implementing these proposals. In his Budget Speech on 27th
February 1974, the Financial Secretary explained that the order
of capital expenditure (including public works, housing, subventions, grants to the UPGC and departmental special expenditure) for the ten years ending 1983-84 was $25,000 million at 1973 prices, but added
that the list comprising that total was not necessarily complete.
Of the total, $1,971 million was to be spent in 1974-75
from General Revenue and by the Housing Authority, leaving a
balance of $22,974 million to be spent from 1975-76 onwards.
He assumed that at a rate of $1,800 million per year, $18,000
million would be available at the then current tax rates for the
ten-year period, leaving a balance of $7,000 million.
period 1975-76 to 1977-78, $9,404 million was proposed to be
spent, or #4,004 million in excess of the finance available.
While he was able to suggest how that excess might be dealt
with (by meeting one-half from increased taxation and by
rephasing projects to meet the other): he was unable to carry
this exercise forward over the whole ten-year period.
Over the
specify, however, that the excess of $7,000 million must not be
allowed to grow any larger.
G.F. 323
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