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Business records

Let me turn now to the proposals on business records. The Bill specifies in greater detail the records which a business must keep to enable its assessable profits to be readily ascertained and increases the penalty for non- compliance from $5,000 to $100,000. These proposals are intended to encourage compliance and to enable the Commissioner of Inland Revenue to detect tax evasion more effectively. Again, I hope that they will receive Members' support.

Mr President, with these remarks. I commend the Bill to Members.

End/Wednesday, May 3, 1995

Public Entertainment and Amusement Bill 1995

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Recreation and Culture, Mr James So, in moving the second reading of the Public Entertainment and Amusement (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1995 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):

Mr President,

I move the Second Reading of the Public Entertainment and Amusement (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 1995.

The Bill's aims are to achieve two objectives. Firstly, to repeal the Commissioner for Television and Entertainment Licensing's (CTEL) wide discretionary power to grant, or refuse the grant of, a public entertainment permit under the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance. This is to remove any possible inconsistency with the Bill of Rights Ordinance. Secondly, to amend the definition of amusement ride in the Amusement Rides (Safety) Ordinance to place legislative control on certain manually driven amusement devices such as multi- axis chairs which may be potentially dangerous.

CTEL issues about 3,200 permits every year to various types of public entertainment in accordance with the provisions of the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance. In discharging this duty, CTEL has rarely turned down applications on the ground of objections to the form and content of the entertainment. Despite this, we are proposing to abolish the permit system to remove any possible inconsistency with the Bill of Rights Ordinance.