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"So we produced a budget which holds firm to our guiding principle of living within our means. It is a balanced budget.
"We have kept our tax system low, simple and predictable. And we have adhered firmly to our revenue principles," he said.
On the 1997-98 Budget, he said there was a very wide measure of consensus, both within the community and in the JLG expert group, on the principles to be adopted for preparing next year's budget.
"In 1997 Hong Kong's budget will be prepared on the basis of our traditional prudent approach. The detailed preparation of the 1997-98 Budget will remain the responsibility of the relevant Hong Kong government departments."
He said experts of both sides of the JLG had already agreed that the 1997-98 Budget would cover the whole financial year.
"A 12-month Budget ensures continuity in all the public services. It also provides certainty over Hong Kong's financial and tax policies through the transition, which is what the community - especially the business community - needs."
"This will be an enterprise with both sides dedicated to its success. At each critical stage of the preparation, the aim will be to achieve a rapid consensus," he said.
He said the Chinese side had made it very clear that their involvement in the 1997 Budget is a one-off affair and after 1997, Hong Kong's budget would be a matter which would fall entirely within the autonomy of the Special Administrative Region government.
"So what we are dealing with now are the exceptional arrangements for the exceptional year," he said.
"I have no doubt that the two sides will be able to reach consensus in all areas, and that the exercise will proceed smoothly," he said.
End
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