17
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 12, 1991
"WE HAVE ALSO MANAGED TO REDUCE PROGRESSIVELY THE STANDARD RATE THE IN TAX BACK TO WHERE IT HAD BEEN BEFORE WE WENT INTO DEFICIT EIGHTIES.
OF
"ON TAXATION GENERALLY, I HAVE INTRODUCED A NUMBER OF I AM IMPROVEMENTS, SOME WILLINGLY AND OTHERS IN RESPONSE TO DEMAND SURE THAT YOU WILL ALL REMEMBER SEPARATE TAXATION FOR MARRIED WOMEN.
IN GENERAL TERMS, OUR FISCAL POSITION IS SOUND, HE SAID.
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"I AM NOT MAKING ANY PREDICTIONS FOR THE 1990'S BEYOND SAYING THAT MUCH OF WHAT WE HAVE DONE IN THE 1980'S WILL CONTINUE TO SERVE US WELL.
..
WE HAVE SPENT OUR MONEY PRUDENTLY. THE POLICIES WE HAVE FOLLOWED HAVE BEEN TRANSPARENT AND PREDICTABLE. WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE WIDER PUBLIC INTEREST, THOSE POLICIES HAVE
BUSINESS ALLOWED ENTERPRISES THE MAXIMUM DEGREE OF FREEDOM TO MAKE THEIR OWN DECISIONS AND TO PROSPER. LONG MAY THIS REMAIN SO, HE SAID.
THE
BEFORE DESCRIBING HIS OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES, SIR PIERS TOOK
то OPPORTUNITY
CLARIFY SOME MISCONCEPTIONS
BUDGETARY ABOUT
POLICIES.
H
THE THE
IN ALL MY BUDGET SPEECHES, I HAVE CONSISTENTLY MAINTAINED LINE THAT THE GROWTH OF PUBLIC EXPENDITURE SHOULD HAVE REGARD TO TREND GROWTH RATE OF THE ECONOMY, AS MEASURED BY THE GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT OR GDP, SO AS NOT TO CROWD OUT THE PRIVATE SECTOR.
HAVE
"THIS HAS BEEN NO EASY TASK. THE PRESSURES FOR INCREASED SPENDING IN DESERVING AREAS HAVE BEEN INTENSE. GDP GROWTH RATES ALSO BEEN EXTREMELY VOLATILE.
"FACED WITH THESE PRESSURES AND IN THE LIGHT OP VOLATILE ECONOMIC GROWTH, THE RECORD HAS NOT BEEN UNSATISFACTORY," HE SAID.
"IN 1987-88, THE RATIO OF PUBLIC EXPENDITURE TO GDP AMOUNTED TO LARGELY 16.6 PER CENT. IN 1991-92, THIS HAD GROWN TO 19.3 PER CENT,
IN AS THE RESULT OF UNCOMFORTABLY RAPID GROWTH IN PUBLIC EXPENDITURE MORE RECENT YEARS, FUELLED BY A SERIES OF PAY REVIEWS, WHICH HAVE COME TO A CLOSE, AND BY THE RECOVERY OF THE GROWTH RATE EXPENDITURE FROM THE NEGATIVE GROWTH EXPERIENCED IN 1984-85.
NOW
OF CAPITAL
BY THE
THE
**
"IN THIS CONTEXT, 1 MUST DISPEL THE MYTH, STARTED
MEDIA IN THE
BY AND REPEATED COMMENTATORS
SOME
OF MEMBERS LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL IN THE BUDGET DEBATE, THAT DURING MY TENURE, PUBLIC SECTOR SHARE OF GDP HAS GROWN FROM A BASE OF 11 PER CENT.
SIR PIERS NOTED MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE DATA.
THAT THIS PROBABLY
STEMMED
FROM A
"THE FIGURE OF 11 PER CENT COMES CLOSE TO THE CONCEPT OF PUBLIC SECTOR EXPENDITURE IN NATIONAL ACCOUNTS TERMS WHICH EXPENDITURE OF GOVERNMENT TRADING DEPARTMENTS SUCH AS CIVIL WATER SUPPLIES AND THE POST OFFICE AND ALSO TRANSFER PAYMENTS SUCH PUBLIC ASSISTANCE.
EXCLUDES AVIATION,
AS
/"AS I