Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2017 gazetted
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The Bill seeks to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) to implement the concessionary revenue measures proposed in the 2017-18 Budget. These include the following adjustments to salaries tax and tax under personal assessment, with effect from the year of assessment 2017-18:
(a) Widening the marginal tax bands from $40,000 to $45,000. This measure will benefit 1.3 million taxpayers and reduce tax revenue by $1.5 billion a year;
(b) Increasing the disabled dependant allowance from $66,000 to $75,000. This measure will benefit 35 000 taxpayers and reduce tax revenue by $50 million a year;
(c) Increasing the dependent brother/sister allowance from $33,000 to $37,500. This measure will benefit 23 800 taxpayers and reduce tax revenue by $13 million a year;
(d) Extending the entitlement period for home loan interest deduction from 15 years to 20 years, while maintaining the current deduction ceiling of $100,000 a year. This measure will reduce tax revenue by $430 million a year; and
(e) Increasing the deduction ceiling for self-education expenses from $80,000 to $100,000. This measure will benefit 3 500 taxpayers and reduce tax revenue by $8 million a year.
The above adjustments will together reduce tax revenue by $2 billion each year.
The 2017-18 Budget also proposes a one-off reduction of salaries tax, tax under personal assessment and profits tax for the year of assessment 2016-17 by 75 per cent, subject to a ceiling of $20,000 per case. The reduction will be reflected in taxpayers' final tax payable for the year of assessment 2016-17. The proposed one-off reduction will benefit 1.84 million taxpayers of salaries tax and tax under personal assessment, and 132 000 tax-paying corporations and unincorporated businesses. The revenue forgone for 2017-18 amounts to $18.3 billion.
The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council on March 22.
Ends/Friday, March 3, 2017
Issued at HKT 12:00
Issued at HKT 12:00
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