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Mr. Richard LAI (in Cantonese):
Sir, the Financial
Secretary has brought us a Budget that has generally
taken care of the interests of all social strata. Although Hong Kong has experienced an historical stock
5 crisis last October, our economic performances on the
whole are encouraging. Although the Budget fails to
balance the interests of different parties, it has given us some very welcome proposals. For example, the reduction of our standard tax rate, the increase
of various allowances and the increase of expenditure
on social and medical expenditure. All these proposals reflected some benefit gained from an economic boom.
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As I said last year, the Budget is prepared along the conventional lines of public finance policy, but it lacks farsightedness and it fails to use our existing resources
Suture to tie in with our economic development. This is indeed most regrettable. For the past two years we achieved a two-digit economic growth rate and we have achieved a
last year 13.5 per cent of growth rate, which is more than the 11.2 per cent in 1986. with such a big surplus, the proposal of the Financial Secretary to increase various tax allowances to protect the lower middle-income class from inflation should have been most welcome, yet the small
scale of adjustment cannot (inaudible) disappointment at
the inadequacy of the relief.
الماجسر معلمه منة من
issue
28 Now I turn to the controversial .[topict of separate
for coubles
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taxation.
sencept on wolke & pax Allowance can be regarded
This has already attracted a lot of comment
centred around last year but the Budget this year again detailed the concept on the grounds of certain insolvable difficulties. The proposed Marrie
as a form of compensation in lieu of separate taxation
34 and as a simpler and more practical measure enabling
married women to share the fruits of a booming economy
just like any other taxpayer. The tax allowance for
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