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Wednesday, February 24, 1971

INCREASE OF $18 MILLION IN RATES YIELD

Reason For Growth of Only Five Per Cent

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Rates in the next financial year would yield an estimated increase

of $18 million, or a little over five per cent.

"This may seem strange in a time of rising rents and rising production

of new property," Sir John Cowperthwaite, Financial Secretary, said today.

But the reason for it was that, in deciding to introduce controls

on ront increses last year and to use the staff of the Rating and Valuation

Department to administer the scheue, the Government took, in effect, "a

deliberate decision to forego the additional revenue which would have accrued

from the routine revaluation planned for this year."

He said normally the Goverment revalued every two or three years,

revaluing in alternate years on each side of the harbour. But it had had to postpone revaluations due both in 1970/71 and 1971/72, and it estimated

that the loss in revenue in 1971/72 was about $20 million, and in 1972/73

about $40 million.

He hoped that the ordinary valuation processes could be resumed

again in time for adoption of new valuations for the fiscal year begiming

on April 1, 1973.

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