PRESS RELEASE

(Source : Government Information Centre)

New design for tax demand notes

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The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has adopted a new design for the salaries tax and personal assessment demand notes.

An IRD spokesman said the new design, which came into effect this month (July), provided taxpayers with more information and made the tax demand notes more comprehensible.

Major improvements on the demand notes are:

Brief description of the basis of assessment

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The basis of assessment is stated. A taxpayer will know at a glance whether the assessment is based on the tax return filed or whether it is an estimated assessment. For an estimated assessment, made in the absence of a tax return, the taxpayer is also reminded to file a timely objection against the assessment and submit a tax return.

Important details on the first page

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Clearly shown on the first page are important details such as the total amount of tax payable and the amounts payable under in first and second instalments. The due date and dates of the instalments are printed in red. The time limit for lodging a notice of objection and the deadline for applying holdover of provisional tax are also shown.

Clearer tax computation

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The tax computation on page two shows clearly in a vertical format the income, deductions, allowances and amount of tax assessed for the final and provisional assessments. It also shows whether the tax is calculated at the progressive rates or at standard rate. As only items that are relevant to the taxpayer are included, the computation is easier to follow.

Improved standard Assessor's Notes

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Assessor's Notes are printed below the tax computation for taxpayer's easy reference. More than 200 standard Assessor's Notes have been rewritten. They are now more user-friendly and comprehensible.

A specimen of the new demand note is now available on the IRD homepage. Please visit the homepage (www.ird.gov.hk) for more details. For easy retention of records, assessment details and payment voucher are printed on separate pages. Taxpayers making payment should only detach the relevant payment voucher for the 1st or 2nd instalment. There is no need to enclose the whole set of demand notes.

Ends/Friday, July 15, 2005

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