PRESS RELEASE

(Source : Information Services Department) 

Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018 gazetted

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      The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018 was gazetted today (March 23).
 
      The Bill seeks to expand the scope of profits tax deductions for capital expenditure incurred for the purchase of intellectual property (IP) rights from the existing five types to eight. The additional three types of IP rights are rights in layout design (topography) of integrated circuits, plant varieties and performances.
 
      "The Government attaches great importance to promoting IP trading in Hong Kong, as well as strengthening Hong Kong's position as an IP trading hub in the Asia-Pacific region. The proposal to expand the scope of tax deductions as set out in the Bill is one of our initiatives towards the above objectives," a government spokesman said.
 
      The proposal to expand the scope of tax deduction for capital expenditure incurred for the purchase of IP rights was one of the measures recommended by the Working Group on IP Trading in March 2015. It was also an initiative announced in the 2016-17 Budget.
 
      The existing five types of IP rights which are eligible for tax deductions are patents, know-how, copyright, registered designs and registered trademarks. Subject to the passage of the Bill by the Legislative Council, the tax deductions will cover a total of eight types of IP rights. 
 
      The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first and second readings on April 11.
 

Ends/Friday, March 23, 2018
 Issued at HKT 11:00

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