1939-10-18 — Page 8

FOR AGE & QUALITY

THE BRANDIES OF ARISTOCRATS

1

AND

THE ARISTOCRATS OF BRANDIES

RENAULT'S BRANDIES

STRAIGHT FROM THE CELLARS

OF MESSRS. RENAULT, ST. LOUVENT ET CIE, COGNAC, CHARENTE, DISTILLERS and BOTTLERS OF THE FINEST BRANDIES IN FRANCE SINCE 1835,

Sole Distributors:

A. S. WATSON & CO., LTD.

WINE DEPT.

(ESTD. 1841)

TEL. 20616.

ALL WOOL BLANKETS

MANUFACTURERS PRICES HAVE

NOW ADVANCED 40%

BUY YOUR REQUIREMENTS NOW AT REASONABLE PRICES

All Pure Wool Coloured Blan- kets Single Bed Size: Green, Pink, Blue, Mauve

Camel,

$25.00 Pair

All Pure Wool Super Merino White Blankets The World's Best Single Bed Size.

Blanket Single Very Warm and Light

$39.50 Pair

$79.50 Pair Double $129.50

Pair

THE CHINA MAIL, OCTOBER 18, 1939

COLONY'S ECONOMIC

POTENTIAL

By The Editor

Mere vigour of expression in titled to consideration, but on the level now the controversy created over even Government's income tax suggested, the tax cannot be proposals must not be allow- regarded as onerous.

·

ed to obscure fundamentals As to the effect on the body or logical reasoning. No-one economic, the total of the can be dogmatic at this yield is well-nigh an irrele- stage. No satisfactory data vant consideration. Britain exists to justify the assump- takes a basic rate of 40 per tion that the income tax cent. with surtax of 14 per scale, as provisionally re- cent. on £3,000 and 36 per commended, will produce cent. on £11,000, without $5,000,000 or $10,000,000 or groaning, too much. And no- $15,000,000. With the collect- one has yet suggested that ing machin- ery in efficient working or- der, and it will rapidly improve as it gets oughly "run in", the figure may just as easily be the greater as the

less.

thor-

In such re- sult, what would hap-

to the pen arguments of opponent of che measure, that the In- come Tax pro-

WHITEAWAY, LAIDLAW & CO., LTD., HONG KONG.posals are ex-

Save

ON

CHOICE BACON

"D.F." BRAND

RASHERS

80 cts. lb.

THE DAIRY FARM, ICE & COLD

STORAGE CO., LTD.

Pure Food Specialists.

THE FIGURES

To anticipate any possible

challenge, the figures below show

how the assessments quoted in

this article are arrived at:

Bachelor, earning $445 a month, or $5,340 per annum.

Personal allowance .$1,800 Earned income, 10%.. 534

$2,334 Five per cent. on balance of $3,006, or $150, or $12.50 per month.

Married

man, earning $570 monthly, or $8,840 per annum.

Personal allowance.. $1,800 Wife

Earned Income, 10%.

1,350

684

$3,834

Five per cent. on balance of $3,006, or $12.50 per month.

Married man, with two child. ren, earning $720 a month, or $8,640 per' annum.

Personal allowance....$1,800 Wife

Children

1,350

1,600

Earned income, 10%.. 864

$5,614

Five per cent. on the balance of $3,026 or, slightly more than $12.50 per month.

orbitant, will destroy confil- dence, drive capital away and generally economic structure up skillfully-for the favour- ed few on the policy of laissez faire. The most in- teresting of the phenomena that presents itself is the way in which calm judgment on the merits of the basic rate of tax has been distort- led by economic fright. Ten

wd.com

million dollars in one fell

swoop of one direct tax! Co- lossal! Exorbitant! Expro- priation of Wealth! Disas- trous!

the country is near econo- mic collapse.

If, in fact, $10,000,000 can be obtained in Hong Kong by a which a s KS no more than

tax

per a of

$12.50 month bachelor earning $445 a monɩn, of a married man earning $570

a month and of a married man with two children earning $720 a month, the Colony can well afford it.

wreck an That is the fundamental. built No-one can say now what the tax will yield. But whatever it yields on the basis of pay- ments as mild as those, can- not conceivably strain the individual economy-or that of the Colony-to anything near breaking point. It might, on the other hand, provide a fairly accurate as. sessment of what the Colony can genuinely afford to pay. Nor can we see any form of taxation which Would spread taxation more equit- ably among those with the Superlatives must have capacity to make a contribu-- been thoroughly exhausted tion towards defraying the had adequate data existed to cost of the war to the Em. enable the Financial Secre- pire. Yet to judge by some tary to announce an expec- comments, spreading the tation of yield of $20,000,000. burden would not be consi- Yet, basically, whatever the dered effective unless it in. yield the merits of the tax cluded a tax on the coolie's must remain precisely the rice! They would substi..

tute a host of irritating min- or taxes, which would ensure that the bulk payment came from the Colony's vast un der privileged

same.

It is preposterous to call the Government's tax de mands exorbitant. Some mo. dification in favour of the lower incomes may be en.

(Continued