WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 1987
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HE SAID IT WAS NOT AN OVERSIGHT THAT THERE WAS A LACK OF AN INCREASE IN THE DEPENDENT PARENTS ALLOWANCE.
+SINCE THE ALLOWANCE HAD BEEN INCREASED AS RECENTLY AS 1986 ! FELT THAT AN IMPROVEMENT IN CHILD ALLOWANCES DESERVED GREATER PRIORITY THIS YEAR, MR JACOBS SAID.
MR JACOBS SAID MISS DUNN SHARED HIS VIEW OF THE IMPORTANCE OF A STRATEGY FOR THE MEDIUM TERM.
HOWEVER, HE SAID HE TOOK ISSUE WITH HER ON ONE POINT WHEN SHE QUESTIONED THE NEED TO MAINTAIN DUTY RATES IN REAL TERMS.
+TO MY MIND, ONE OF THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF OUR FISCAL STRATEGY IS THAT WE SHOULD NOT LET OUR SPECIFIC TAX RATES ERODE IN REAL TERMS IN THE GOOD TIMES AND THEN BE FACED WITH HAVING TO INCREASE INDIVIDUAL ITEMS SUBSTANTIALLY WHEN THINGS TURN AGAINST US. SHARP CHANGES IN DUTY RATES ARE DISRUPTIVE,+ HE SAID.
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ESTIMATED SURPLUS HIGHER THAN FORECAST
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THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY, THE HON PIERS JACOBS, TODAY (WEDNESDAY) REVISED THE ESTIMATED SURPLUS FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1986-87 FROM $3.1 BILLION TO $3.7 BILLION.
WINDING UP THE RESUMED DEBATE ON THE APPROPRIATION BILL 1987 IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, MR JACOBS NOTED THAT GENERAL REVENUE FOR THE YEAR HAD MARGINALLY IMPROVED FROM $43.1 BILLION TO $43.6 BILLION MAINLY DUE TO INCREASED STAMP DUTY FROM EVEN HIGHER LEVELS OF STOCK MARKET TURNOVER THAN PREVIOUSLY ANTICIPATED.
IN TERMS OF EXPENDITURE ON THE GENERAL REVENUE ACCOUNT, MR JACOBS FORESAW LITTLE CHANGE FROM THE REVISED ESTIMATES GIVEN IN HIS BUDGET SPEECH.
A SLOWER PACE OF EXPENDITURE ON THE CAPITAL WORKS UNDERTAKEN BY SUBVENTED BODIES WAS PARTLY OFFSET BY SLIGHTLY HIGHER PAYMENTS ON THE PURCHASE OF WATER FROM CHINA AND UNDER THE DEFENCE COSTS AGREEMENT, HE ADDED.
MR JACOBS SAID EXPENDITURE FROM THE VARIOUS FUNDS WAS LIKELY TO BE ABOUT $250 MILLION LOWER DUE TO THE DELAY IN SOME PLANNED PURCHASES OF PROPERTY.
/BUT HE