TNAG-1361-FCO40-1807-Hong-Kong-Hansard-reports-and-minutes-of-the-meetings-of-the-1985 — Page 75

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transport officials have publicly stated that, with the implementation of the full system, the annual licence fees and

Such first registration tax could be substantially reduced. being the case, there is no urgent need to increase annual licence fees and driving licence fees at this time.

Finally, private car owners as a group have already contributed more than their fair share to the public coffers. As past increases in annual licence fees and first registration tax have been effective in curbing the growth in the number of private cars, I believe that long suffering car owners should deserve a break, at least pending a decision on the Electronic Road Pricing system. Moreover, the opening of the MTR Island Line this summer might further encourage people to leave their cars at home in favour of public transport.

Representations from cosmetic and perfume

distributors, importers and retailers were made to UMELCO against the imposition of a 25% ad valorem duty on cosmetics and perfumes. They maintained that about 50% of the cosmetic products and 80% of the perfumes imported into Hong Kong are for re-export to other countries. If duty is levied on these imported goods, it is feared that Hong Kong would likely lose its attraction to tourists as a shoppers' paradise and its position as a regional distributor of cosmetics and perfumes to Singapore. As a result, it is likely that the revenue from this source may fall short of its expected yield of $100

million.

I would like to ask the Financial Secretary to consider some of the suggestions advanced by the representatives of this trade.

The introduction of the duty on cosmetics is too abrupt, causing possible financial losses and disruption to the cosmetics business. Hence, it is proposed that shipments of cosmetic products for which orders have been placed before 27th February 1985, should be exempted from the duty.

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