TNAG-1727-FCO40-2440-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1988 — Page 25

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1988/89 was originally expected to be in the order of about HK$202 million,, HK$187 million from the hotel accommodation tax and the balance from its own activities. Contrary to the practice since the time of the passage of the hotel accommodation, bill in 1965 until last year when the Tourist Association received the receipts from the special levy on hotel accommodation, it will in future only be given an

amount deemed required for its activities and only after Government has vetted and approved its budget. 11 [when speaking in the debate on the second reading 12 of the hotel accommodation tax bill, the then Financial

Secretary made it quite clear that the cost of funding the Tourist Association should not be paid from general revenue; Indeed, it was the whole purpose of that bill to raise the funds required by special tax raised through the industry. Now, if the levy today generates more revenue than the Tourist Association requires or is allowed to have, should not the solution be to consider a reduction in the tax, instead of short- 2.21 changing the Association on funding levels it had every

reason to expect? Again the Financial Secretary has

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23 given no clues as to why this should not be done, or why

the Tourist Association needs to be kept on a shorter leash from now on. Cone can of course not validly argue, without becoming instantly unpopular, against Government keeping a check on expenditure and allocation needs. But to single out an association which has done an excellent job of promoting a Hong Kong industry which today generates something like HK$25 billion in receipts

for cent from tourists per year, or about 13 of the total domestic

# exports of 1987 for sudden special treatment seems to me a curious thing to do. particularly so since the Trade 34 Development Council, which has a very similar mandate and 35 functions, and has a governing body membership of stature

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similar to the Tourist Association, is given approval to

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