C.S.O. 3154/26.
'A BILL
INTITULED
[No. 14.-6.8.31.—2.]
An Ordinance to amend and consolidate the law
relating to Estate Duty.
Be it enacted by the Governor of Hong Kong, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows:-
1. This Ordinance shall be cited as the Estate Duty Short Ordinance, 1931.
title.
2. This Ordinance shall apply in the case of Applica every deceased person dying or who shall have died tion. on or after the first day of January, 1916; and it shall also apply in the case of every deceased person who shall have died before that date if representation to his estate has not been applied for before the second day of May, 1921.
Interpreta-
tion.
3. (1) In this Ordinance,
"Account"
means an account of the 57 & 58 Vict. particulars and value of the estate of a deceased c. 30, s. person in such form as may be prescribed by 22 (1). the Governor in Council and verified by Account. affidavit.
"Affidavit for the Commissioner" means Affidavit an affidavit in such form as may be prescribed for the
by the Governor in Council verifying the Commis- particulars and value of the estate of a deceased sioner.
person.
"Applicable Schedule" in the case of Applicable persons dying before the twenty-seventh day of Schedule. February, 1931, means the Second Schedule to this Ordinance; and in the case of persons dying thereafter it means the First Schedule to this Ordinance.
may
"Commissioner" means the Treasurer or Com- such other person as the Governor appoint as Commissioner for the purpose of
missioner.
this Ordinance, and includes any person appointed by the Governor to be Deputy Commissioner of Estate Duty.
"Estate" includes all property passing or Estate. deemed to pass on the death of any person which is liable to estate duty.
"Estate duty" means estate duty under Estate duty. this Ordinance.
"Executor" means the executor or ad- Executor. ministrator of a deceased person and includes, as regards any obligation under this Ordinance, any person who takes possession of or inter- meddles with the property of a deceased person or any portion thereof.
"Incumbrances" includes mortgages and Incum- terminable charges.
brances.
"Interest in expectancy" includes an estate Interest in in remainder or reversion and every future expectancy. interest whether vested or contingent, but does not include a reversion expectant upon the determination of leases.
св
of
"Prescribed" unless otherwise stated means Prescribed. prescribed by the Governor in Council under this Ordinance.
"Property" includes movable and immov- Property. able property and the proceeds of sale thereof respectively and any money or investment for the time being representing the proceeds of sale.
on the death.
"Property passing on the death" includes Property property passing either immediately on the passing death or after any interval, and either certainly or contingently, and either originally or by way of substitutive limitation, and "on the death" includes "at a period ascertainable only by reference to the death".
"Settlement" means any non-testamentary Settle- disposition in writing, whether made voluntarily ment. or upon a good or valuable consideration other than a bona fide pecuniary consideration, where- by any definite and certain property is settled
or agreed to be settled in any manner for any purpose whatsoever.
(2) For the purposes of this Ordinance,- 57 & 58 Vict ̧ A person shall be deemed competent to dispose c. 30, s. of property if he has such an estate or interest 22 (2). therein or such general power as would, if he were sui juris, enable him to dispose of the property; and "general power" includes every power or authority enabling the donee or other holder thereof to appoint or dispose of property as he thinks fit, whether exerciseable by instrument inter vivos or by will, or both, but exclusive of any power exerciseable either in a fiduciary capacity under a disposition not made by himself or as mortgagee.
to
A disposition taking effect out of the interest
the deceased person shall be deemed have been made by him, whether the concurrence of any other person was or was not required.
Money which a person has a general power to charge on property shall be deemed to be property of which he has power to dispose.
4. In the case of every deceased person there shall, Estate Duty save as hereinafter expressly provided, be levied and 57 & 58 Vict. paid upon the principal value, ascertained as herein. c. 30, s. 1. after provided, of all property passing on the death of such person, a stamp duty called estate duty at the graduated rates mentioned in the applicable Schedule: Schedules. Provided that, where the principal value of an estate comprises fraction of one hundred dollars, such fraction shall, for the purpose of determining the amount of estate duty payable, be reckoned as one hundred dollars.
Provided also that where an interest in expectancy 9 & 10 Geo. in any property has, before the twenty-seventh day 5, c. 32, of February, 1931, been bonâ fide sold or mortgaged s. 29. for full consideration in money or money's worth, then no higher duty on that property shall be payable by the purchaser or mortgagee when the interests falls into possession than is in accordance with the rates mentioned in the Second Schedule, and in the case of a mortgage any higher duty payable by the mortgagor shall rank as a charge subsequent to that of the mortgagee.
5.-(1) Property passing on the death of the What pro- deceased shall be deemed to include the property perty is following:-
(a) property of which the deceased was at the time of his death competent to dispose;
deemed to
pass on death. 57 & 58 Vict. c. 30, s.
q
2 (1).
;
3
-
or
Atat/
(b) property in which the deceased or any 63 Vict.
other person had an interest ceasing on c. 7, s. 11; the death of the deceased, to the extent 10 Edw. 7, to which a benefit accrues or arises by the c. 8, s. 59. cesser of such interest, and such property shall be deemed to pass on the death of the deceased notwithstanding that estate or interest has been surrendered assured, divested or otherwise disposed of, whether for value or not, to or for the benefit of any person entitled to an estate or interest in remainder or reversion in such property, unless that surrender, assurance, divesting or disposition was bona fide made effected three years before the death of the deceased, and bona fide possession and enjoyment of the property was assumed thereunder immediately upon the surrender, assurance, divesting or disposition, and thenceforward retained to the entire exclu- sion of the person who had the estate or in- terest limited to cease as aforesaid, and of any benefit to him by contract or otherwise : Provided that where property affected by such a surrender, assurance, divesting or disposition is deemed to be property passing on the death of the deceased by reason only that the property was not, as from the date of the surrender, assurance, divesting or disposition, retained to the entire exclusion of the deceased or a person who had an estate or interest limited to cease on the death of the deceased, and of any benefit to him by contract or otherwise, the property shall not be deemed to pass on the death of the deceased if subsequently, by means of the surrender of the benefit reserved or otherwise, it is enjoyed to the entire exclusion of the deceased or such other person as aforesaid, and of any benefit to him by contract or otherwise, for a period of three years immediately preceding the death of the deceased: Provided also that this paragraph shall not apply to any property the interest in which of the deceased or other person was only an interest as holder of an office or as recipient of the benefits of a charity or as a corpora- tion sole;
c. 8, s. 59.
(c) property taken as a donatio mortis causa 44 & 45 Vict.
made by the deceased or taken under a c. 12, disposition made by him, purporting to s. 38 (2); operate as an immediate gift inter vivos, 52 & 53 Vict. whether by way of transfer, delivery, dec- 57 & 58 Vict.
c. 7, s. 11; laration of trust, or otherwise, which shall c. 30, not have been bonâ fide made three years s. 2(1); before his death, or taken under any gift, 10 Edw. 7. whenever made, of which property bonâ fide possession and enjoyment shall not have been assumed by the donee immediately upon the gift and thenceforward retained to the entire exclusion of the donor or of any benefit to him by contract or otherwise : Provided that this paragraph shall not apply to gifts inter vivos which are made in consideration of marriage, or which are proved to the satisfaction of the Com- missioner to have been part of the normal expenditure of the deceased, and to have been reasonable having regard to the amount of his income or to the circumstances, or which in the case of any donee do not exceed in the aggregate one thousand dollars in value or amount; Provided also that where property taken under a disposition purporting to act as an immediate gift inter vivos is deemed to be property passing on
10Page 11
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.