PRESS RELEASE

(Source : Information Services Department)

     The Government welcomed the passage of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2023 (the Bill) by the Legislative Council today (May 17). The Bill gives effect to a proposal on stamp duty made in the 2023-24 Budget, which adjusts the value bands of ad valorem stamp duty (AVD) payable for sale and purchase or transfer of residential and non-residential properties (Scale 2 rates).

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Christopher Hui, said, "The proposal mainly aims at easing the burden on ordinary families of purchasing their first residential properties, particularly small and medium residential units. After the adjustment to the value bands of AVD at Scale 2 rates, the stamp duty applicable to the property transactions with amount or value of consideration between $2 million and just below $10,080,000 will be reduced, with the amount of reduction up to $67,500. The adjustment will benefit around 37 000 property buyers, and reduce the tax revenue of the Government by about $1.9 billion a year."

     The adjustment has come into effect at 11am on February 22 this year in accordance with the Public Revenue Protection (Stamp Duty) Order 2023 published in the Gazette on the same day. Any instrument executed before 11am of this day remains chargeable to AVD at the original Scale 2 rates.