PRESS RELEASE

(Source : Government Information Centre)
 

Tax information at finger tip

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The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) is going to introduce a 24-hour TeleTax service early next year to facilitate taxpayers in dealing with their tax affairs and Tax Reserve Certificate (TRC) accounts.

The Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Mrs Alice Lau Mak Yee-ming, said today (August 4) that by TeleTax, taxpayers will be able to access their own tax information held by IRD via telephone, without the need to contact IRD staff.

For instance, a taxpayer will be able to check whether there is any tax return sent to him that has yet to be lodged; whether IRD has issued any tax assessment to him; details of tax paid or payable; and his TRC account balance. At the same time, the taxpayer can ask for a copy of the said documents which will be sent to him by post. The IRD is also considering adding new items to the service.

At present, taxpayers without digital certificates have to contact the IRD staff for similar information while taxpayers with digital certificates obtain them from the Internet.

To register for the new service, a taxpayer will have to fill in a registration form and obtain a password. The forms will be sent to them together with their notices of assessment.

Mrs Lau said, "The password, designed to authenticate a user's identity, is a means to ensure the security and confidentiality of the user's personal data."

The registration forms can also be downloaded from the IRD homepage (www.info.gov.hk/ird/form.htm) or obtained by fax (fax number: 2598 6001). The same documents will be sent with the Mid-year Statement of Electronic TRC by IRD to TRC accountholders in September this year.

Mrs Lau calls on taxpayers to register early if they are interested in the service. IRD will issue the passwords to applicants early next year so that when the service is launched, they can make the most use of it.

In completing the registration form, the taxpayer has a choice of collecting the password in person from IRD or by post. For further information, please visit IRD's homepage at www.info.gov.hk/ird.

End/Saturday, August 4, 2001

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