TUESDAY, AUGUST 19, 1986
IN THE SURVEY, PARTICIPATING FIRMS WERE ASKED TO INDICATE WHETHER, IN THEIR OPINION, THE GENERAL BUSINESS SITUATION AND LEVEL OF CAPACITY UTILIZATION HAD +IMPROVED+, +REMAINED THE SAME+ OR +DETERIORATED+ IN THE QUARTER JUST ENDED AS COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING QUARTER.
FOR THE FORTHCOMING QUARTER, THEY WERE ALSO ASKED TO INDICATE WHETHER THE SITUATION WILL +IMPROVE+, +REMAIN THE SAME + OR +DETERIORATE+. THE BALANCE OF OPINIONS OF RESPONDENTS WERE TABULATED AND ANALYSED.
THE SURVEY REPORT ALSO CONTAINS A SECTION ON BUSINESS PROBLEMS EXPERIENCED AND EXPECTED BY FIRMS IN DIFFERENT ECONOMIC SECTORS AND A BREAKDOWN OF VIEWS OF FIRMS BY SIZE GROUPS.
THE DEPARTMENT CAUTIONED THAT IN A SURVEY OF THIS NATURE, THE RESULTS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED WITH CARE AS IT WAS DIFFICULT TO ESTABLISH PRECISELY THE EXTENT TO WHICH RESPONDENTS' PERCEPTION OF THE PAST AND THE FUTURE ACCORDS WITH THE UNDERLYING TRENDS.
COPIES OF THE REPORT, CONTAINING AN ANALYSIS OF THE SURVEY FINDINGS AND STATISTICAL TABLES, HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO FIRMS TAKING PART IN THE SURVEY AND TO OTHER BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC MAY OBTAIN COPIES FROM THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS SALES CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, AT $3 PER COPY.
FURTHER DETAILS OF THE QUARTERLY BUSINESS SURVEY MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE NATIONAL INCOME BRANCH OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT AT 5-423401.
INTEREST ON TAX RESERVE CERTIFICATES REVISED
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THE NEW ANNUAL RATE OF INTEREST WILL NOW BE 3.36 PER CENT (TAX FREE) AS AGAINST THE CURRENT RATE OF 4.08 PER CENT (TAX FREE).
NOTICE OF THIS WAS PUBLISHED IN AN EXTRAORDINARY ISSUE OF THE GAZETTE PUBLISHED ON SATURDAY (AUGUST 16).
INTEREST ON TAX RESERVE CERTIFICATES IS CALCULATED IN MONTHLY INTEREST STEPS AND THE NEW RATE WILL BE $0.28 PER MONTH PER $100. WILL BE CREDITED AS BEFORE IN RESPECT OF COMPLETE MONTHS BETWEEN PURCHASE AND SURRENDER IN PAYMENT OF TAX, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE INLAND REVENUE DEPARTMENT SAID.
INTEREST IS ONLY CREDITED WHEN CERTIFICATES ARE USED TO PAY TAX AND NO INTEREST IS DUE WHERE THE PRINCIPAL VALUE OF A CERTIFICATE IS REPAID BY A CHEQUE.
/THE NEW