XN000022-1984-02-29 — Page 6

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 1984

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+1 EXPECT A MODERATE INCREASE IN THE YIELD FROM INDIRECT TAXES, MAINLY FROM IMPORT DUTIES, BETTING DUTY AND RATES. AT $8.2 BILLION, INDIRECT TAXES ARE ESTIMATED TO BE $858 MILLION HIGHER,+ HE SAID.

FOR ALL OTHER RECURRENT REVENUE, HE ANTICIPATED A YIELD OF $8.4 BILLION OR ONLY $182 MILLION HIGHER THAN THE REVISED ESTIMATE. WHILE ALL OTHER COMPONENTS SHOULD YIELD $342 MILLION MORE, HE EXPECTED REVENUE FROM PROPERTIE AND INVESTMENTS TO BE $160 MILLION LOWER, REFLECTING THE DECREASE IN THE GENERAL REVENUE BALANCE.

SIR JOHN SAID THE ON-GOING EXERCISE TO KEEP FEES AND CHARGES UP TO DATE WOULD CONTINUE DURING FISCAL 1984 AND WHERE JUSTIFIED BY RISING COSTS, PROPOSALS FOR INCREASES WOULD BE MADE DURING THE YEAR.

CONTINUING, HE SAID THE ESTIMATE OF CAPITAL REVENUE FOR FISCAL 1984 WOULD BE $4.73 BILLION WITH THE MAJOR ELEMENT CONTINUING TO BE LAND REVENUE ESTIMATED AT $4.23 BILLION AGAINST THE ACTUAL REVENUE OF $5.05 BILLION IN 1982-83 AND A REVISED ESTIMATE FOR 1983-84 OF $2.27 BILLION.

+LAND REVENUE REMAINS PARTICULARLY DIFFICULT TO ESTIMATE,+ HE SAID, ADDING THAT THE REVENUE IN FISCAL 1982 REFLECTED TO SOME EXTENT LINGERING EFFECTS OF THE PROPERTY BOOM OF 1980 AND 1981.

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+AS EXPLAINED IN MY BUDGET SPEECH LAST YEAR, THIS FIGURE DEPENDED PRIMARILY ON THE SUCCESSFUL SALE OF A NUMBER OF RELATIVELY LARGE SITES, AND WARNED THEN THAT THE MARGINS FOR ERROR WERE CONSIDERABLE. THE REVISED ESTIMATE IS INDEED 5730

MILLION LESS, + HE SAID,

SIR JOHN SAID THE 1983-84 LAND SALE PROGRAMME BY AUCTION AND TENDER CONSTITUTED THE SINGLE LARGEST PROSPECTIVE COMPONENT OF LAND REVENUE ORIGINALLY COMPRISING 96.7 HECTARES AND FROM WHICH HE HAD EXPECTED REVENUE OF $1.7 BILLION.

IN THE COURSE OF THE YEAR THE PROGRAMME WAS CONSIDERABLY REVISED, TAKING THE FORM OF TWO LISTS - SITES WHICH SEEMED LIKELY TO ATTRACT GENERAL BIDDER INTEREST AND SHOULD THEREFORE BE PUT ON THE MARKET, AND SITES WHICH SHOULD REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR SALE WHEN READY BUT WOULD ONLY BE OFFERED ON APPLICATION BY DEVELOPERS READY TO MEET MINIMUM PRICE CRITERIA.

HE SAID THE RESHAPED PROGRAMME CONSISTED OF 53.4 HECTARES, WITH A REVISED ESTIMATE OF 1.2 BILLION, EXCLUDING ADMIRALTY HI.

SIR JOHN SAID HE MENTIONED LAST YEAR THERE WERE FIVE WELL-KNOWN, LARGE AND VALUABLE SITES WHICH HAD NOT BEEN INCLUDED

IN THE ORIGINAL PROGRAMME AND OF THESE, ADMIRALTY I WAS THE ONLY ONE IN WHICH SPECIFIC INTEREST WAS SHOWN THE AUCTION ACTUALLY REALISED $380 MILLION.

+OVER $1 BILLION MORE WILL BE SPENT ON THE SUPERSTRUCTURE THUS DEMONSTRATING A MAJOR RENEWAL OF DEVELOPMENT INTEREST, HE ADDED.

/GIF