No.
SECRET
Capely
A - A
53888/273
2
54002139
ན་
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
105
HONG KONG,
14th October, 1939.
My dear Gent,
I am sending by this mail the
speeches which Caine and I made to Legislative
Council at the session at which the intention
to impose an income tax was announced together
J
with newspaper comment to date. As will be
observed, this latter comprises very different
opinions, but I think that you may rest assured
that the measure has on the whole been well-
received here. Before I put the proposition
to the Secretary of State I consulted not merely
Executive Council, but a small number of leading
business men among whom were Grayburn of the Hong
Kong and Shanghai Bank and Landale of Jardine
Matheson and Company.
willingly enough but were opposed to the light
surtax which I wished to put on. As Caine also
was rather against surtax, at the initial stage
of income tax, from the administrative angle, I
did not go on with it, though I may next year.
It is not unlikely that it would have driven
away some of the gold-laying geese, and so done
They accepted the principle
G. E. J. Gent, Esq., 0.B.E., D.S.O., M.C.,
Colonial Office,
LONDON, S.W.1.