The Hong Kong government has proposed a 100% one-off reduction (limited to HKD 10,000) in profits tax, salaries tax and tax payable under personal assessment for the year of assessment 2020/21 and an increase in the stamp duty rate to 0.13% (from 0.1%) for share transactions.
The details were announced in the Budget for 2021/22 that was presented to the Legislative Council by the Financial Secretary on 25 February 2021. The tax measures proposed require legislative amendments before implementation. Once enacted, the amendments will apply from 1 April 2021.
The proposals are summarized below:
- a one-off 100% reduction in profits tax, salaries tax and tax payable under personal assessment for the year of assessment 2020/21, subject to a maximum of HKD 10,000 per case;
- a waiver of business registration fees for 2021/22; and
- an increase in the rate of ad valorem stamp duty on Hong Kong stock transactions from 0.1% to 0.13% for both buyers and sellers.
No new taxes were introduced by the government. The full details of the budget speech are available here.