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Tax
Reform
81.
I pointed out in my
last Budget that we must stay alert to the
challenges ahead and face up to the long-term
pressure on public finances brought to bear by such
challenges as a narrow tax base, unstable revenue,
economic restructuring and an ageing population.
We launched a public consultation on tax reform last
July to explore the best way of broadening our tax
base. The community generally agrees that the
Government should stabilise its revenue by
broadening the tax base for the purpose of ensuring
the health of our public finances and maintaining
our competitiveness. Although the community
cannot reach a consensus on the introduction of a
Goods and Services Tax, it supports the Government
in continuing discussions with the public on other
options to broaden the tax base. We will
prepare a report after the conclusion of the
consultation period at the end of March and submit
it for consideration by the Government of the next
term.
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