XN000022-1979-02-28 — Page 17

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1979

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MR. HADDON-CAVE EMPHASISED THAT HIS PROPOSALS RELATING TO MOTOR VEHICLE LICENCES HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FUTURE TRANSPORT POLICY. +THEY ARE JUSTIFIED IN THE IR OWN RIGHT, AND THEY ARE PUT TO HON. MEMBERS FOR FISCAL REASONS ALONE, HE STRESSED.

IN THE CASE OF TAXIS, MR. HADDON-CAVE SAID HE WAS MINDFUL THAT THE LICENCE FOR A HONG KONG AND KOWLOON TAXI IS GRANTED AFTER A PUBLIC TENDER, OR IN THE CASE OF AN NT TAXI BY BALLOT, AND THAT TAXI FARES HAD RECENTLY BEEN INCREASED.

HE NOTED, HOWEVER, THAT THE ANNUAL FEE CHARGED FOR THE LICENCE IS A CHARGE FOR ROAD USE, AND A TAXI OCCUPIES ROAD SPACE FOR ABOUT 10-15 TIMES LONGER THAN THE AVERAGE PRIVATE CAR.

+ I CAN SEE NO REASON, THEREFORE, WHY THE FEE FOR A TAXI SHOULD NOT HAVE REGARD TO THE FEE FOR A PRIVATE CAR OR WHY THERE SHOULD BE ANY DISTINCTION BETWEEN HONG KONG AND KOWLOON TAX IS AND NEW TERRITORIES TAXIS.+

ON BUOY AND ANCHORAGE FEES, MR. HADDON-CAVE PROPOSED AN INCREASE TO $700 A DAY FOR AN 'A' BUOY AND $450 A DAY FOR A "B" BUOY. HE ALSO PROPOSED TO RAISE THE ANCHORAGE FEES TO $14 PER 100 TONS PER DAY INSIDE THE HARBOUR LIMITS AND $4 PER 100 TONS A DAY ELSEWHERE IN HONG KONG WATERS. HE ESTIMATED THAT THE ADDITIONAL REVENUE NEXT YEAR FROM THESE INCREASES WOULD BE AT LEAST $3 MILLION.

MR. HADDON-CAVE SAID THE PROPOSED INCREASES IN BUOY AND ANCHORAGE FEES WOULD BECOME EFFECTIVE AS SOON AS THE NECESSARY REGULATIONS ARE MADE, PROBABLY IN THE MIDDLE OF APRIL.

ON BUSINESS REGISTRATION FEES, MR. HADDON-CAVE NOTED THE FEES HAD LAST BEEN REVISED IN 1975. HE PROPOSED TO INCREASE THE FEE FROM $150 A YEAR TO $175 A YEAR AS FROM APRIL 1 THIS YEAR.

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY SAID HE DID NOT CONSIDER THAT THIS WOULD CONSTITUTE A HARDSHIP AT TODAY'S PRICES AND HE ENVISAGED AN ADDITIONAL YIELD TO REVENUE OF $6.5 MILLION IN 1979-80.

HE ESTIMATED THAT THE ADDITIONAL REVENUE YIELDS FROM FIRST REGISTRATION TAX, VEHICLE LICENCES, BUOY AND ANCHORAGE FEES AND BUSINESS REGISTRATION FEES WOULD AMOUNT TO $85.5 MILLION IN 1979-80.

+THESE REVENUE PROPOSALS FOR 1979-80 WILL HAVE THE EFFECT

OF SLIGHTLY IMPROVING THE BALANCE OF THE FISCAL SYSTEM COMPARED WITH WHAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WITHOUT THEM, HE SAID.

ON FEES AND CHARGES, MR. HADDON-CAVE SAID HE WAS NOT SATISFIED THAT EVEN OUR COST-RELATED FEES AND CHARGES ARE REVIEWED FREQUENTLY ENOUGH, AND HE WOULD BE ASKING THE FINANCE BRANCH TO CONSIDER WAYS OF IMPROVING A SYSTEM OF MONITOR ING.

HE ALSO FELT THAT SEVERAL ROYALTY-LOADED FEES OUGHT TO BE UPDATED, BUT HE DID NOT PROPOSE ANY CHANGES ON THIS OCCASION,

AS FAR AS TAX-LOADED FEES AND CHARGES WERE CONERNED, MR. HADDON-CAVE SAID, A RECENT REVIEW BY THE MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING SERVICES DIVISION OF THE TREASURY HAD REVEALED THAT, WITH MOST INCREASES OVER THE YEAR, THERE HAD BEEN A SIGNIFICANT EROSION OF THE TAX-LOADING ELEMENT. THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY SAID HE HAD THEREFORE DECIDED THAT THOSE MOST SERIOUSLY AFFECTED SHOULD BE REVISED UPWARDS TO OFFSET THIS EROSION.