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HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
the economic well-being of the Colony but the measure will stand or fall on Government's ability to administer it equitably, economically and incorruptably. If they fail I, if I am still a member of this Council, will be in the forefront of the movement for its repeal.
HON. MR. CHAU TSUN-NIN.-As a representative of the Chinese community, it had been my intention to oppose this Bill at its second reading. Seldom has a Bill met with such strong reaction from all sections of the community, both Chinese and non-Chinese. It has been made more than obvious that the Chinese community as a whole is opposed to such a Bill. Your Excellency admitted in your speech last week that Government realises that there are many people in this Colony who are opposed to the measure now before us solely because they feel that it is not the best or most appropriate form of taxation for Hong Kong. The Government, you told us, is of the contrary opinion.
The Chinese community of Hong Kong is fully aware of the need to increase the revenue of the Colony and to make it, as far as possible, self-supporting. The Chinese community will give its full support to any practical measures towards that end. But to command, to ensure that support, it must be demonstrated that any such revenue- producing measures are, indeed, practical. All sections of the Chinese community are united in their belief that such an epithet cannot be applied to the Inland Revenue Bill.
As it has been made obvious that Government is determined to force the Bill through, no matter what the arguments raised against it are, the Chinese community is now-very reluctantly-prepared to accept three of the four taxes contained in the Bill-namely, the tax on properties, the tax on salaries and the tax on interest. But the Chinese community is still strongly opposed to the fourth tax-the tax on business profits. I have said before, in addressing this Council on the subject of income tax, that the introduction of such a tax in a predominantly Chinese community is bound to be a failure. Apart from the difficulties of obtaining accurate figures on which to base such a tax, there is the great barrier thrown up by tradition.
Both the Chinese and the British, more than any other peoples in the world, are guided in their every-day lives by tradition. One cannot overcome that tradition, and alter the complete psychological concept of a people, by the mere passing of a Bill. I submit that any attempt to pierce the traditional privacy of the inner counter is bound to fail-and a tax on profits will mean such an infringement. It will fail, not because of any deliberate attempt at tax evasion, but simply because it will be an attempt to break down a tradition in Chinese business procedure which has been a fundamental element for centuries.
The Chinese community, therefore, wishes to stress its opposition to such a tax. As an alternative, they put forward the suggestion that a business licence fee should be imposed. The details involved
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