CO129-558-3 Levy on Salaries- petition from Chinese Civil Servants 3-1-1936 - 19-12-1936 — Page 53

53

+ Acoper 2 (81)

or

31 Gor 492

Air Mail

53652/36

+

تعلنه

should

be regis fate 1937 Ests file later.

сус

53652/35 Sexestes

Memo. on Financial Position: End. I no(5) 53562/35- para 16

or

R Ibid.

pana

33.

x

for 1934

19/8/36

Descusses the budgetary position

of the estimated deficit,

y in

view

confermave externance

proposes extension of Salary levy

Y

fexery of

conversion rate of sterling salaves at

than $16= £1.

not more than

Meless unchecter by telegraph

to the contrary the Col - See: well mention These proposals

on introduction

The Suffly Bell

Although this is really an Estimates

despatch I have had it registered on this file

since the immediate decision to be taken is

whether the Hong Kong Government should be

authorised to announce the re-imposition of a

modified salary levy as part of the 1937 budget.

The reasons which governed the sanction-

ing of this year's levy are to be found in the

minutes under No.7 on the 1936 Estimates file;

and may be summarised as follows:-

(1) When the original 1936 draft Estimates

were put up, it was estimated that surplus balances amounting to $12,248,755 on the 1st

January, 1935, would have fallen to

X

$12,095,789 by the end of the year, and to

89,169,486 by the end of 1936, assuming a

sterling dollar exchange of 1/8.

(2) The effects of a long-continued trade

depression were supplemented in November last

by the silver crisis in China and the

consequent