Head 2 General Rates.
GRO
Under Section 79A of
15. the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance the management and control of the public markets shall be vested in the Urban Council in respect of the urban areas and in the Director of Urban Services (Director of Regional Services with effect from April 1985) in respect of the New Territories. Following discussions within the Rating and Valuation Department in 1978 on the question of whether markets managed and controlled by the Urban Council and the Urban Services Department should be assessed to rates, it was decided they should, although it was recognized that there might be some difficulties, and it was agreed at a Rating Valuation Conference of the Rating and Valuation Department in August 1978 that necessary arrangements would be made to rate the public markets with effect from April 1981.
16.
At a subsequent meeting in December 1978 however, the Commissioner of Rating and Valuation considered that the problems involved in assessing each stall individually were enormous and amendments to the Rating Ordinance were discussed which would make the Urban Council (and the Urban Services Department in respect of the New Territories) liable for the payment of rates. The adoption of these amendments, it was thought, would facilitate assessment work because only one assessment would then be needed for each market. In July 1979 the Secretary for the Environment advised against such a course of action as he did not believe that it would be acceptable to the Urban Council on account of the high costs and administrative difficulties involved. In November 1980 the matter was again discussed at the Rating Valuation Conference and it was agreed that the matter should be pursued with the Director of Urban Services with a view to securing his agreement to being named the ratepayer in respect of the public markets in the New Territories. If this proved successful then the Urban Council might be prepared to acquiesce in respect of the public markets in the urban areas. No further action was taken however until December 1981 when the Rating Valuation Conference agreed that whilst the matter remained of concern it was not a priority item. NO follow-up action has since been taken.
17.
The delay in assessing public market stalls to rates has resulted in a substantial loss to the revenue as in accordance with the Rating Ordinance rates due on an interim valuation are only payable from 24 months before the date of the issue of the first demand. Based on the 1979 levels of rateable value and rates of charge I have estimated that the loss to the revenue by way of rates forgone amounted to $2.92 million for the years 1981-82 and 1982-83.
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