CO129-582-7 Taxation 6-6-1939 - 5-2-1940 — Page 102

No.

SEEN BY DEPT 38???

7/12

54002/37 20

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

27

109

HONG KONG,

R

18th November, 1939.

GUNOV 339

endl, K Ests deep. of 17/11-(2) on $1650 39.

(VESA)

My dear Gent,

C. UGX

You may be glad to know how

our income tax proposals are progressing.

Today's official mail carries

the newspaper report of last Thursday's

debate, so you will now have at the

Colonial Office all that has been said

publicly on the subject: the shallowness

of most of the opposed arguments will, no

doubt, strike you. The fact is that the

Taipans of Hong Kong, so long remote from

any trouble worse than the 1925 strike, do

not yet realize what the war means; as

soon as income tax was mentioned the

majority of them made up their minds

against it and refused 'to hear the voice

of the charmer', for fear that they might

be persuaded to think otherwise.

Some are regretting this precipitancy

and I have reason to believe that opinions

in several quarters are coming round in favour

of such a measure: if the sitting committee

reports, in despair, that there is no better

way than by means of income tax for this

G.E.J. Gent, Esq., 0.B.E., D.S.O., M.C.