Annex
Inland Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance 1984 and the Draft Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 1985
In July 1985 the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 1985 was submitted to Executive Council for consideration. The Bill sought to implement proposals made by the
the Financial Secretary in his 1985 Budget Speech, mainly to replace the existing general anti-tax avoidance provisions with legislation which would provide the Commissioner of
of Inland Revenue with more effective anti-avoidance powers.
and
Alerted to the provisions of this new bill, concerned about its complexity and the possible effects that it might have on business confidence in Hong Kong, UMELCO in July 1985 decided to convene an Ad Hoc Inland Revenue Review panel with the following Terms of
Reference
"Having regard to Hong Kong's long standing policy
policy of maintaining a simple and stable tax environment conducive to
conducive to investment and confidence, the Ad Hoc Panel will
(1)
(2)
examine
the
Inland
Revenue
(Amendment) Ordinance 1984 (Note) and the relevant Practice Note to
ascertain conform(s) with
whether
they
the
(it) declared
intention and spirit of the Ordinance;
examine the draft Bill published on Friday 19.7.85 on anti-avoidance
measures;
(3). examine the cumulative effect of recent amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance to ascertain their effect on the economy and business confidence;
(4)
(5)
Note: The Inland
brought interest
consult widely and receive further representations from the public; and
report to UMELCO by 10 September."
Revenue (Amendment) earned off shore
Ordinance 1984
by non-banking
businesses within the ambit of Hong Kong tax. Its subject matter, being closely related to the problem of tax avoidance, had been controversial.