1993-05-07 03:00 G.I.S
06-MAY-1993 22:40
P.05/06
SECRETARIAT PRESS OFFICE
+ 652 868 5212
P.05
Q: Would you introduce a rates increase next year?
FS: I ал a blank sheet of paper as far as next year's concerned, apart from the assurances that I've given about personal allowances and tax bands. You know we have to get down the road of it, see how the economy is developing, listen to ideas from LegCo which I've said I will do, and then take a view. So I'm open-minded on what happens next year.
Q: Can you guarantee that the same discrepancy will not happen again?
FS: I can guarantee exactly the same discrepancy won't happen again. I certainly can't guarantee that no discrepancy will
will occur again. But I certainly hope that there won't be such a large discrepancy. That will be my aim.
Q: Mr. Macleod, would your decision help to combat inflation?
FS: As it happens it will. Not putting rates up of course means that the net effect of the Budget package is more deflationary. I don't want to exaggerate that because I've said the increase wasn't very inflationary
the increase in the rates so knocking it off
doesn't have a huge effect. But certainly it's helpful.
Q: But what about the 25% ceiling, it's not retreated. reason behind it?
What's the
FS: The what? Ah the cap. The cap, actually it isn't part of this Budget, it was part of the last Budget. It so happens the way it was done last year was
that it was created for one year only. So no decision was taken. It just lapsed.
Q: You said that there's slightly more than $6 billion here, then you said that the total cost to the rates measure is $7 billion. You've given us some rather rough figures. You also said that when you add interest on to the slightly more than $6 billion, you get to $7 billion. Is it possible you could have got higher than that then you could have enough money to put the rates cap back on?
FS: Well who knows, but we didn't.
Q: You haven't given us the exact figures today. Some..some..
There's still
FS: Well, I'm not going to give exact figures because this will be finalised whenever it
it is,
is, in another month's time. But you are talking about $6 billion and $7 billion, that's exact enough.
Q: But there's still some surplus left that could have been used for other measures if you wanted to.
FS: No, I mean I don't think we are fine-tuning to that extent.
When you draft the new Budget, will you consider the opinion of the Legislative Councillors?
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