PRESS RELEASE

(Source : Government Information Centre)

Legislative Council Passes Revenue Bill 2004

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The Legislative Council passed the Revenue Bill 2004 today (May 12). The Bill seeks to implement two revenue-related measures announced in the 2004-05 Budget.

The first measure is to extend the entitlement for home loan interest deduction under salaries tax and personal assessment from five to seven individual years of assessment.

The second measure is to extend the scope of deduction for research and development expenses under profits tax to cover design-related expenses.

The concession in relation to home loan interest deduction will take effect from the 2003/04 year of assessment and is estimated to cost government revenue of $4.6 billion over the next five years. The concession on research and development expense deduction will take effect from the 2004/05 year of assessment and is estimated to cost $30 million in a full year.

Ends/Wednesday, May 12, 2004

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