THURSDAY, MARCH 29, 1984
+ANY REVALUATION OF OUR DOLLAR SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS AND GRADUAL AND CALCULATED TO MAINTAINING A COMPETITIVE MARGIN FOR OUR INDUSTRIES, HE STRESSED.
TURNING TO THE BUDGET, MR CHAN DREW ATTENTION TO THE TIME- TESTED CHINESE SAYING: +TO ADJUST ONE'S EXPENDITURE TO ONE'S INCOME+ AND ESTABLISH NEW SOURCES AND PREVENT WASTEFUL OUTFLOW.+
+FROM MY OWN DEPARTMENTAL DOCTORING EXPERIENCE, I HAVE FOUND THAT IT PAYS TO PAY YOUR STAFF WELL AND DEMAND MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY AT THE SAME TIME, HE SAID.
HE ALSO WARNED THAT THE SETTING UP OF NEW DEPARTMENTS OR SECTIONS SHOULD BE TREATED WITH CARE.
+ONE MUST BE VERY CAREFUL IN STARTING NEW DEPARTMENTS OR SECTIONS, AS ONCE A DEPARTMENT IS ESTABLISHED, IT MULTIPLIES AS QUICKLY AS CELLS. IT TAKES A LOT OF HARD WORK TO MAINTAIN ZERO
GROWTH, + HE SAID.
HE ALSO SUGGESTED THAT WE SHOULD TAKE A MORE CRITICAL LOOK AT THE EXPENDITURE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND POSTPONE SOME NEW PROJECTS TO BALANCE THE BUDGET.
COMMENTING ON THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING COUNCIL (VTC) IN ITS PROJECT OF BUILDING TWO NEW TECHNICAL INSTITUTES, MR CHAN SAID, THE PROBLEM IS NOT SOLELY CONFINED TO THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING COUNCIL AS I BELIEVE OTHER ORGANISATIONS ARE ALSO SUBJECTED BY GOVERNMENT TO A FRUSTRATING STOP-GO EXPERIENCE IN THEIR BUILDING PROJECTS.
TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM, HE SUGGESTED THAT THE VOCATIONAL TRAINING COUNCIL, AND ANY OTHER ORGANISATION IN A SIMILAR SITUATION, BE PERMITTED TO SET UP A DEVELOPMENT FUND FOR SAVINGS ACCRUED,
HE NOTED THAT AT PRESENT THESE SAVINGS HAD TO BE RETURNED TO THE GOVERNMENT ANNUALLY.
+AS MAJOR DEVELOPMENT PLANS OF THE VTC NOW AMOUNTS TO OVER $700 MILLION AT CURRENT COSTS, I THINK IT ESSENTIAL FOR SOME FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENT TO BE AGREED BETWEEN THE VTC AND THE GOVERNMENT TO AVOID ANY UNNECESSARY DELAY WHEN THE VTC HAS, IN FACT, FUNDS,+ HE SAID.
MR CHAN SAID THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO INCREASE IN THE STANDARD RATE OF SALARIES TAX OF 15 PER CENT.
HE POINTED OUT THAT AN INCREASE TO 17 PERCENT NOW WOULD IMPAIR THE LOW TAX IMAGE OF HONG KONG,
+ IT WOULD BE BETTER TO ADD ON A SMALL PERCENTAGE FOR THE VARIOUS TYPES OF TAXES AS A TEMPORARY MEASURE, HE SUGGESTED.
DESCRIBING THE TWO PER CENT SALARIES TAX RISE AS HARSH,
HE ADDED: +AS THE SUM OF ALL THE PARTS (WORKERS) CANNOT BE LARGER THAN THE WHOLE (THE BUSINESS ESTABLISHEMENT), WE HAVE ACCEPTED THAT BUSINESS ESTABLISHMENTS IS THE RICHER AND SHOULD BE TAXED MORE.+
/MR CHAN