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their business to mercantile firms already established, thus minimizing charges for rent and other incidental expenses,
The 130 Agencies I have referred to are in the hands of about 30 firms or persons, carrying on their business. This gives an average of a little less than four Agencies to each firm, but one gentleman is Agent for no less than eighteen companies, whilst several firms manage ten or twelve. Now, if an Agent, carrying on his own business in two or three rooms, debits each of the dozen Companies he represents with its fair share of his rent and taxes, it is evident that the charge against each is merely nominal compared with what a suite of independent Offices would entail.
10. The real and effective remedy for this state of things would seem to be to impose an ad valorem stamp duty on every Fire Policy issued by a Company not registered in Hong Kong. A five per cent duty on these policies would bring in, it is calculated, about $20,000 a year. The stamp duty on policies of all kinds, Fire, Marine, and Life, at present yields a stamp duty of not quite $8,000 a year.
11. All that would be necessary to carry this proposal into effect would be a short Ordinance altering Article 29 of the Schedule of Ordinance No 16 of 1886, as in the enclosed draft, and this Ordinance, should my proposal be approved, I shall be happy to prepare.
I have,
(Signed) A. Lister
Postmaster General