FINANCIAL STRUCTURE
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of lading and receipts and the highest $20 on deeds. Ad valorem duty on various other documents ranges from 25 cents on $1,000 to $2 on $100. As from April 1, 1967, a fixed duty of $20 was substituted for the $2 per cent ad valorem duty on conveyance of land where the sale price does not exceed $20,000 and the stamp duty was reduced to $1 per cent ad valorem duty where the sale price exceeds $20,000 but does not exceed $40,000. A special duty at the rate of three per cent is payable on the first conveyance of any parcel of land after September 1948. The estimated yield from Stamp Duty during the current financial year is $60 million.
Substantial revenue accrues from Entertainments, Dance Halls, Bets and Sweeps Taxes and it is estimated they will yield $57.6 million during the current year. Entertainments Tax is charged on the price of admission to places of entertainment, the rate varies with the amount charged but averages about 22 per cent. Certain types of entertainment given for charitable or educational purposes are taxed at a lower rate or may be exempt. Public Dance Halls Tax exacts a levy of 10 per cent on all dance halls charges. Bets and Sweeps Tax imposes 7 per cent on totalizator receipts and 25 per cent on cash sweepstake receipts.
The Hotel Accommodation Tax, introduced in July 1966, provides money for the promotion of tourism. The rate of tax is two per cent of the charge made for accommodation by the proprietor of any hotel containing 10 or more rooms normally available for guests. This levy is estimated to yield $2.2 million in the current
year.
Every business carried on in the Colony except one which is not carried on for the purpose of gain or one which is carried on by a charitable institution must be registered and pay an annual registration fee of $25. Where the business is very small, the Com- missioner may exempt it. These fees are expected to yield approx- imately $3.4 million.
CURRENCY
When Hong Kong was founded in 1841, China's currency was based on uncoined silver. The normal unit for foreign trade through- out the Far East was the Spanish or Mexican silver dollar. By a proclamation of 1842, Mexican or ‘other Republican dollars' were