CO129-615-3 Income tax 24-2-1948 - 12-8-1948 — Page 17

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REPORT OF THE

COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUE

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH, 1948.

A. ORIGIN OF THE INLAND REVENUE DEPARTMENT.

Taxation Committee: Inland Revenue Bill

In September, 1946, H.E. the Governor appointed

a Taxation Committee to advise on measures to increase the revenue of the Colony. Amongst the terms of reference was a specific direction to report on the question of the intro- duction of direct taxation in the Colony. In a unanimous report, the Committee recommended direct taxation on lines similar to the War Revenue Ordinance, 1941, with such modifications as were necessary for a more permanent measure. As a result of their recommendations, I was sent to the United Kingdom to consult with the Colonial Office and the United Kingdom Inland Revenue Department. I returned with a draft Bill which received the general approval of the Taxation Committee. It was published for general information in March, 1947, and referred to a Committee under the Chairman- ship of the Hon. A. Morse, C.B.E., comprising representatives of business, finance, law and Chartered Accountants and myself. A number of amendments were agreed upon, all of which were accepted by Government, and the Bill, as amended, finally passed into law as the Inland Revenue Ordinance, No. 20 of 1947.

Inland Revenue Ordinance, 1947.

2. When this Ordinance became law direct taxation was imposed in Hong Kong for the first time as part of the Colony's normal fiscal system. Previously, in 1940 and 1941, a system

of direct taxation had been imposed, but such taxation was

ar purposes only, and "

the United Kingdom

!