Tax law amendment passed

It'll upgrade Hong Kong's tax information exchange.

According to a report, Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Prof KC Chan welcomed the Legislative Council's passing of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2013 today.

The bill enables Hong Kong to enter into tax information exchange agreements with other jurisdictions, and enhance the existing exchange of information (EoI) arrangements under comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements.

Prof Chan said the bill's passage signifies a major step forward in enhancing tax information exchange and bringing Hong Kong on par with the international standard on tax transparency and co-operation.

The Global Forum on Transparency & Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development has recommended Hong Kong put in place a legal framework for entering into agreements, which is crucial for it to prepare for the Phase 2 peer review of the Global Forum on jurisdictions' compliance with the international EoI standard in September.

Up to now, Hong Kong has signed 29 comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements and the signatories include 11 of its top 20 trading partners.

"With the passage of the bill, we would enhance the existing EoI arrangement in terms of the coverage of tax types and the limitation on disclosure of information."

Prof Chan said the legislative changes passed enable Hong Kong to meet the prevailing international standard and address the local community's concerns on privacy and confidentiality.