XN000022-1988-11-10 — Page 16

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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1988

TAX RATE REDUCTION URGED

THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD REDUCE THE SALARY TAX RATE TO ITS "TRADITIONAL" 15 PER CENT AND ABOLISH THE ONE AND A HALF PER CENT DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN THE CORPORATE AND INDIVIDUAL RATES, THE HON PETER WONG HONG-YUEN SAID IN THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TODAY (THURSDAY).

SPEAKING IN THE POLICY DEBATE, MR WONG SAID THE DIFFERENTIAL IN THE TAX RATES CAME ABOUT AT A TIME WHEN FINANCIAL PROSPECTS WERE NOT BRIGHT.

"NOW THAT WE HAVE HAD A NUMBER OF YEARS OF SURPLUSES, WE SHOULD REVERT TO OUR SIMPLE, SINGLE LOW RATE, HE SAID.

MR WONG ALSO CALLED FOR A SPEEDY COMPLETION

WITH CHINA OVER A DOUBLE TAX ARRANGEMENT.

OF DISCUSSIONS

HE SAID HONG KONG WAS THE MAIN INVESTOR IN CHINA AND IT WAS NOT UNREASONABLE FOR THE TERRITORY TO EXPECT THE MOST FAVOURABLE TAX

TREATMENT.

COMMENTING ON THE PROPOSED CENTRAL POLICY UNIT, OR "THINK TANK", MR WONG PUT THREE QUESTIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT.

FIRSTLY, HE SAID, COULD THE THINK TANK TAKE A LONG HARD LOOK AT HOW IT EXPECTED THE ECONOMY TO DEVELOP BECAUSE HONG KONG NEEDED ΤΟ KNOW WHAT LAY AHEAD?

SECONDLY, COULD IT ENSURE THAT ALL THE NECESSARY INFORMATION AND STATISTICS WERE AVAILABLE AND WERE USED FOR PLANNING PURPOSES? HE SAID THE PRESENT AVAILABLE STATISTICS WERE "WORFULLY INADEQUATE" *IN MANY AREAS AND THE THINK TANK WOULD HAVE TO RETHINK HONG KONG'S

WHOLE DATA NEEDS BY APPLYING THE LATEST IN COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY.

GET

THIRDLY, HE SAID, COULD THE THINK TANK FIND A MECHANISM TO THROUGH GOVERNMENT "RED TAPE" SO THAT FUTURE ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY COULD BE SPEEDILY RECOGNISED AS USEFUL AND DEPLOYED MUCH MORE QUICKLY IN GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHMENTS?

I

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