FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1981
+THE BILL'S MAIN PURPOSE, HE SAID, + IS TO TIDY UP WHAT IS LEFT OF THE STAMP DUTY LEGISLATION AFTER THAT SOMEWHAT CRUDE SURGERY IN 1978.+
THERE ARE NOW TO BE ONLY FOUR HEADS OF CHARGE, WHERE ONCE THERE WERE 53. THESE ARE HONG KONG IMMOVABLE PROPERTY (CONVEYANCES AND LEASES), HONG KONG STOCK (CONTRACT NOTES AND TRANSFERS), HONG KONG BEARER INSTRUMENTS, AND DUPLICATES AND COUNTERPARTS OF CHARGEABLE INSTRUMENTS.
THE BILL ALSO REMOVES A NUMBER OF ANOMALIES AND AMBIGUITIES WHICH HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO AFFECT THE LAW AS IT IS AT PRESENT.
FOR INSTANCE, THE BILL PROVIDES FOR THE DUTY CHARGEABLE IN RESPECT OF TRANSACTIONS IN STOCK TO APPLY TO TRANSACTIONS IN THREE COMMON TYPES OF INVESTMENT WHICH AT THE MOMENT ESCAPE DUTY ALTOGETHER, BECAUSE THEY DO NOT FALL WITHIN THE EXISTING DEFINITION OF WHAT IS CHARGEABLE, THESE ARE UNIT TRUST UNITS, DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS FOR OVERSEAS SHARES, AND WARRANTS TO SUBSCRIBE FOR SHARES.
CONSEQUENTIAL AMENDMENTS ARE MADE TO A NUMBER OF LAWS, THE MOST IMPORTANT RELATING TO THE POST OFFICE ORDINANCE.
AMENDMENTS TO THE POST OFFICE LEGISLATION ARE NECESSARY BECAUSE THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS OF THE STAMP DUTIES MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE APPLY TO BOTH REVENUE AND POSTAGE STAMPS, WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY SPLIT BETWEEN THE COLLECTOR OF STAMP REVENUE AND THE POSTMASTER GENERAL.
THE BILL SEVERS THIS HISTORICAL LINK BETWEEN THE TWO DEPARTMENTS BY MAKING SEPARATE ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION FOR REVENUE STAMPS AND POSTAGE STAMPS.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR JANUARY
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THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT TODAY PUBLISHED THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEXES FOR JANUARY 1981. THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (A) AND THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (B) FOR JANUARY 1981 WERE 171 AND 170 RESPECTIVELY.
COMPARED WITH THE PREVIOUS MONTH, CPI (A) INCREASED BY THREE POINTS OR 1.8 PER CENT AND CPI (B) BY TWO POINTS OR 1.2 PER CENT. WHEN COMPARED WITH THE CORRESPONDING MONTH IN 1980, CPI (A) INCREASED BY 21 POINTS OR 14.0 PER CENT AND CPI (B) BY 20 POINTS OR 13.3 PER CENT.
THE CPI (A) IS BASED ON WEIGHTS DERIVED FROM THE EXPENDITURE PATTERN OF HOUSEHOLDS SPENDING BETWEEN $400 AND $1 499 A MONTH AND THE CPI (B) FROM THOSE SPENDING BETWEEN $1 500 AND $2 999 A MONTH, AS DETERMINED IN THE HOUSEHOLD EXPENDITURE SURVEY OF 1973/74.
/THE INDEXES
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