| The following Ordinances
enacted during the year were concerned with matters administered
by the Department.
Stamp Duty (Amendment)
Ordinance 2003 (No. 21 of 2003)
This Ordinance provided necessary legal basis for the introduction
of an alternative way of stamping by issuing a stamp certificate.
The Ordinance will come into operation on 2 August 2004.
Revenue (No. 2) Ordinance
2003 (No. 24 of 2003)
This Ordinance gave effect to the following proposals in the
2003-04 Budget:-
Salaries Tax
1. |
to amend the definition
of income from employment to remove the exemption for
holiday warrants and passage; |
2. |
to raise the ceiling for tax deductible
donations to recognized charitable institutions from 10%
to 25% of assessable income; |
3. |
to revert the marginal tax structure
to levels before the 1998-99 concessions over two years
(in years of assessment 2003-04 and 2004-05):- |
| 2003-04 |
2004-05 |
| Marginal Tax
Band |
Marginal Tax
Rate |
Marginal Tax
Band |
Marginal Tax
Rate |
| First $32,500 |
2.0% |
First $30,000 |
2.0% |
| Next $32,500 |
7.5% |
Next $30,000 |
8.0% |
| Next $32,500 |
13.0% |
Next $30,000 |
14.0% |
| Remainder |
18.5% |
Remainder |
20.0% |
4. |
to lower the personal allowances
over two years and increase the allowance for the third
to ninth child:- |
| Allowance |
2003-04 |
2004-05 |
| $ |
$ |
| Basic |
104,000 |
100,000 |
| Married Person |
208,000 |
200,000 |
| Single Parent |
104,000 |
100,000 |
| First to second child |
30,000 |
30,000 |
| Third to ninth child |
30,000 |
30,000 |
5. |
to increase the standard
salaries tax rate from 15% to 16% in two equal phases
over years of assessment 2003-04 and 2004-05; |
Profits Tax
6. |
to increase the tax rate
for corporations from 16% to 17.5% effective from year
of assessment 2003-04; |
7. |
to increase the tax rate for unincorporated
businesses from 15% to 16% in two equal phases over the
years of assessment 2003-04 and 2004-05; |
8. |
to raise the ceiling for tax deductible
donations to recognized charitable institutions from 10%
to 25% of assessable profits; |
9. |
to increase the rate of deeming assessable
profits for certain payments, such as royalties and licence
fees, from 10% to 30%; and |
Property Tax
10. |
to increase the property
tax rate from 15% to 16% in two equal phases over years
of assessment 2003-04 and 2004-05. |
Betting Duty (Amendment)
Ordinance 2003 (No. 29 of 2003)
The main purposes of the Ordinance were to empower the Secretary
for Home Affairs to authorize betting on football matches
and to introduce a football betting duty on the authorized
betting on football matches.
Revenue (No. 3)
Ordinance 2003 (No. 34 of 2003)
This Ordinance gave effect to the following proposals in the
2003-04 Budget:-
Profits Tax
1. |
profits arising from a
debt instrument having a maturity period of less than
7 years but not less than 3 years are only chargeable
to profits tax at one-half of the applicable rate; those
arising from a debt instrument having a maturity period
of not less than 7 years are exempt from profits tax; |
Stamp Duty
2. |
indirect allotment or redemption
of units under unit trust schemes is exempted from the
payment of $5 fixed stamp duty with effect from 14 November
2003. |
Tax Exemption (2001
Tax Year) Order (Legal Notice No. 133 of 2003)
The purpose of this Order was to exempt payment of 50% of
the salaries tax or the tax chargeable by way of personal
assessment for the year of assessment 2001-02, subject to
a cap of $3,000 per case.
Betting Duty Ordinance
(Legal Notice No. 152 and 153 of 2003)
The notices specified the increase of duty on exotic horse
racing bets from 19% to 20% and the reduction of payout rate
for exotic horse racing bets from 76% to 75% with effect from
1 August 2003.
Specification of Arrangements (Double Taxation)
Orders under section 49 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance
| Country |
Date of Order |
Nature |
| Belgium |
03.02.2004 |
Income and Capital |
| Croatia |
24.02.2004 |
Air Services |
Legal Notices to fix the rate of interest payable on Tax Reserve
Certificates
| Legal Notice
No. |
Periods in
force |
Annual
rate of interest |
| 144 of 2003 |
2 June 2003 to 3 August 2003 |
0.050% |
| 200 of 2003 |
4 August 2003 to 31 August 2003 |
0.0417% |
| 203 of 2003 |
1 September 2003 to 2 November 2003 |
0.0375% |
| 240 of 2003 |
3 November 2003 to 1 February 2004 |
0.025% |
| 12 of 2004 |
2 February 2004 to 29 February 2004 |
0.015% |
| 30 of 2004 |
1 March 2004 to 2 May 2004 |
0.010% |
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