THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 1977
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+HOWEVER, SINCE THEN, THE COST OF LIVING HAS RISEN AND IT SHOULD BE OBVIOUS THAT NOWADAYS THE PERSONAL ALLOWANCE OF $10,000 WOULD BE ADEQUATE ONLY FOR ONE'S PERSONAL NEEDS AND THAT THE ELEMENT FOR PARENTS' SUPPORT HAS ALREADY DISAPPEARED, HE SAID.
TAKING THE $180 PER MONTH BASIC RATE OF PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AS THE BASIS FOR CALCULATION, MR. WONG SAID, THE ALLOWANCE SHOULD BE $2,160 A YEAR. BUT THE ORIGINAL ALLOWANCE OF $2,000 COULD BE ADOPTED FOR THE SAKE OF CONVENIENCE IN CALCULATIONS.
ON THE PROPOSED SUPPLEMENTARY PERSONAL ALLOWANCE, MR. WONG URGED THE GOVERNMENT TO INCREASE IT TO AT LEAST $4,000.
HE SAID THAT THE INCREASE SHOULD HINGE ON THE RISE IN THE COST OF LIVING.
+ IF THERE IS A BIG INCREASE IN THE COST OF LIVING BUT THE BASIC ALLOWANCE REMAINS THE SAME, IT WOULD AMOUNT TO INCREASED TAXATION IN ANOTHER FORM,+ HE ADDED.
SINCE THE BASIC ALLOWANCE WAS RAISED IN 1973/74 FROM $7,000 TO $10,000, MR. WONG SAID, THE COST OF LIVING INDEX HAD RISEN FROM AN AVERAGE OF 138.8 IN 1972 TO AN AVERAGE OF 195.6 IN 1976, A RISE OF MORE THAN 40 PER CENT.
THE SUPPLEMENTARY PERSONAL ALLOWANCE, HE SAID, SHOULD ALSO BE CORRESPONDINGLY INCREASED TO AT LEAST $4,000,
MR. WONG ADDED THAT THE FIGURE WAS STILL A RELATIVELY CONSERVATIVE ONE BECAUSE IT DID NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT TWO OTHER FACTORS: A FURTHER INCREASE IN THE COST OF LIVING SINCE THE END OF 1976 AND THE INCREASE IN THE MINIMUM TAX RATE FROM 2.5 PER CENT TO 5 PER CENT, WHEN THE PERSONAL ALLOWANCE WAS RAISED TO $10,000, WHICH ALREADY RESULTED IN SOME INCREASE IN SALARIES TAX.
AS TO CHILD ALLOWANCE, MR. WONG AGREED WITH THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY THAT IT SHOULD BE INCREASED. HOWEVER, IN LINE WITH FAMILY PLANNING, HE SUGGESTED THAT THE SCALE BE SLIGHTLY REVISED, THAT IS $5,000 FOR THE FIRST CHILD, $3,000 FOR THE SECOND CHILD AND $1,000 FOR THE THIRD CHILD, AND THE REST UNCHANGED.
+THIS SUGGESTION DOES NOT AIM AT FORCING PEOPLE TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF CHILDREN THEY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE BUT MERELY ENCOURAGES THEM TO HAVE BETTER FAMILY PLANNING IF POSSIBLE,+ HE SAID.
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