HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.
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THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY.-I beg to move that this Bill be referred to the Standing Law Committee for consideration before consideration by a Committee of the whole Council.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY seconded, and this was agreed to.
Objects and Reasons.
The "Objects and Reasons" for the Bill were stated as follows:-
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1. In Chapter III, 1, of their Report (Sessional Paper No. 1 of 1940) the War Revenue Committee recommended that the Government should proceed with measures on the lines of a War Revenue Bill included as an Appendix to the Report.
2. A Resolution of the Legislative Council endorsing that recommendation was passed at the Council's meeting of the 7th March, 1940.
3. Since the Report was published certain suggestions of slight verbal alterations, chiefly of a clarifying nature, have been considered. In so far as these suggestions have been approved they have been embodied in the Bill now presented. They are set out in the Table of Variation attached.
MOTIONS.
THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY.-I rise to move that this Council approves the expenditure within the current and next financial years of $5,000,000 on the construction in Hong Kong of vessels to be presented to the Admiralty and War Department as part of the Colony's contribution to His Majesty's Government towards the prosecution of the war with Germany.
As already explained in connection with the War Revenue Ordinance the various taxes thereunder are expected to bring in approximately $6,000,000 per annum; $2,000,000 from Property Tax; $1,000,000 from Salaries Tax and $3,000,000 from Corporation and Business Profits Taxes. The estimated revenue over a twenty-four months period is, therefore, $12,000,000.
Coming to expenditure proposals, it may be more convenient if they are looked at over the longer period of twenty-four months, as the ship-building programme which Government has in mind could not be completed within twelve.
The three heads under which this special expenditure will fall are first, the cost of the temporary War Revenue Department, secondly, the abnormal recurrent expenditure imposed on the Colony by war conditions and, thirdly, the cost of ship building for war purposes.
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