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Wednesday, February 28, 1973
condly, the Financial Secretary said, he did not consider that,
in the present circumstances, it was either necessary or prudent to
budget for other than a substantial surplus.
Mr. Haddon-Cave estimated that the extra yield from a doubling
of the rate of stamp duty levied on contract notes would be $300 million.
This, he said, would more than offset the cost of the tax
reforms and reliefs he had proposed.
He did not believe, however, that the new rate would have more
than "a slight effect" on the market.
But he sounded a note of warning that the Government was ready
to take further steps if necessary to cope with any untoward situation
in the market.
He added: "The Government will be prepared to seek emergency
powers to raise the rate of duty on contract notes immediately to cope
with any further situation that looked dangerous, if the Securities
Advisory Council recommended this as part of a package of short-term cooling
measures,1 11
Release time: 10.00 p.m.
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