TNAG-1607-FCO40-22122-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 98

Question No. 14

Written Reply by the Financial Secretary

The Hon. Piers Jacobs, OBE, JP

to Question No. 14 to be asked by the Hon Mrs. Rita Fan at the sitting of Legislative Council on 14 January 1987

Question

Answer

for

: With reference to the

the estimated cost to tax

revenue of a separate scheme of taxation

married couples given in the speech by the

Financial Secretary on 14 April 1983 during

debate on second reading of the Appropriation

Bill 1983, will Government provide an updated

financial implications of

estimate on the

such a scheme?

be

at

least

In

: I estimate that the present cost of

introducing a scheme of separate taxation for

married couples would

$400 million in the year of implementation

and in subsequent years thereafter.

addition, because of the increased number of

files resulting from a scheme of separate

taxation, the Inland Revenue Department's

administrative costs would increase by some

$17 million per annum.