TNAG-1607-FCO40-22122-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 3

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part. The administration will work further on a number

of those ideas and return to the Board for their further

advice at subsequent meetings.

General approach

3.

The Administration takes the view that, because

of the external orientation of our economy and the need

to protect its ability to adjust efficiently, the performance

of the economy would be damaged if the Government attempted

to frustrate market forces or to plan the allocation of

resources. While this does not rule out intervention, it

clearly means that intervention should be undertaken only

when it is in the long term interests of the economy.

4.

In practice this general approach means that,

apart from ensuring the provision of the physical and legal

framework within which private enterprise can operate success-

fully, the Government's main concern has been to avoid

-

frustrating individual enterprise and to seek to maintain

incentives. To this end the size of the public sector is

constrained, the tax burden is kept low and the tax regime

made supportive of investment.

Direct subsidies to business

are avoided and market forces are allowed to be the determinants

in enterpreneurial decisions.

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