Profits Tax is inevitably one of the more volatile
elements of our revenue. The difficulty we face in forecasting Profits Tax revenue is that the bulk of receipts come in over le.
However, Sir, the last few months of the fiscal year. We are undertaking review to improve our profits fax
Profits Tax revenue projections.
an
a
I agree with Mr. Martin Lee that the unexpected consolidated surplus is not an occasion for great rejoicing. In the context of planning the Budget, we do not like to see either unpredicted surplus or an unpredicted deficit. I have explained why, on this occasion, the surplus was much larger than forecast, and I hope that Members will understand that forecasting becomes peculiarly difficult in the face of global events of such magnitude as those of last October. For reasons that I have already touched upon, I do not believe that even in the light of this additional surplus further tax reductions should have been proposed. It is more appropriate that the
additional amount should be used to build up Our fiscal
reserves, In this connection, Members will recollect that in my Budget Speech I pointed out that over the Medium Range Forecast period the reserve balances will fall as a percentage of annual
from about 778 to 658 (1).
ent spending
to
Comments on expenditure proposals
t 16.
جم
some
of
三
In doing
Before I deal with revenue, I would like to address
the points made about my budget strategy
and, in particular, my strategy for Government expenditure. so, I thank Members for their supportive comments with reference to our efforts to develop and sharpen the format of the estimate documents. Our efforts in this respect will continue.
(1)
1988 Budget speech, paragraph 51.
7
/17.
Page 165Page 166
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.