Legislative Amendments

The following pieces of legislation enacted during the year 2013-14 are related to matters under the purview of the Department.

Business Registration Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2013 (Legal Notice No. 91 of 2013)

This Order reduced the levy rate of the Business Registration Certificate, which finances the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, from $450 per annum to $250 per annum with effect from 19 July 2013.

Inland Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance 2013
(Ordinance No. 5 of 2013)

This Ordinance amended the Inland Revenue Ordinance to give effect to the following proposals in the Budget for the 2013-14 financial year:

(1)	to increase the child allowance from $63,000 to $70,000 for each child, and the additional child allowance in the year of birth from $63,000 to $70,000 for each child;
(2)	to increase the maximum deduction amount of expenses of self-education from $60,000 to $80,000; and
(3)	to reduce the amounts of salaries tax, profits tax and tax under personal assessment payable for the year of assessment 2012-13 by 75%, subject to a maximum of $10,000 in each case.

Betting Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2013
(Ordinance No. 6 of 2013)

This Ordinance amended the Betting Duty Ordinance:

(1)	to abolish the duty for bets accepted outside Hong Kong in relation to the conduct of authorized betting on horse races; and
(2)	to charge a duty at a flat rate on the net stake receipts derived from the conduct of authorized betting on horse races held outside Hong Kong.

Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance 2013
(Ordinance No. 9 of 2013)

This Ordinance amended the Inland Revenue Ordinance to make further provisions to facilitate the collection and disclosure of tax information under arrangements made with the government of a territory outside Hong Kong.

Inland Revenue and Stamp Duty Legislation (Alternative Bond Schemes) (Amendment) Ordinance 2013
(Ordinance No. 10 of 2013)

This Ordinance amended the Inland Revenue Ordinance and Stamp Duty Ordinance to provide a comparable taxation framework for some common types of Islamic bonds (sukuk) vis-à-vis conventional bonds, with a view to promoting the development of a sukuk market in Hong Kong.

Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2014
(Ordinance No. 2 of 2014)

This Ordinance amended the Stamp Duty Ordinance with a view to introduce further measures to address the overheated property market by:

(1)	imposing a higher rate of special stamp duty on certain transactions of residential property acquired on or after 27 October 2012 if those transactions occur within 36 months after acquisition; and
(2)	introducing a buyer's stamp duty on certain agreements for sale and conveyances on sale of residential property executed on or after 27 October 2012, unless the buyer or transferee is a Hong Kong permanent resident acting on his or her own behalf in acquiring the residential property or the transaction is otherwise specifically exempted.

Inland Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance 2014
(Ordinance No. 3 of 2014)

This Ordinance amended the Inland Revenue Ordinance to give effect to the following proposals in the Budget for the 2013-14 financial year:

(1)	to provide a tax concession for captive insurers to enjoy a 50 per cent reduction in the profits tax on their insurance business of offshore risks; and
(2)	to increase the maximum deduction for mandatory contributions to Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes from $15,000 to $17,500 for the year of assessment 2014-15, and to $18,000 for each year after that year.

Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital) (Second Protocol) Order

Country	Date of Order	Nature
Austria	23 April 2013	Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital

Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) Orders

Country	Date of Order	Nature
Canada	23 April 2013	Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income
Jersey	23 April 2013	Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income
Guernsey	24 September 2013	Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income
Italy	24 September 2013	Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income
Qatar	24 September 2013	Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income