Hong Kong Master Tax Guide 2015-2016 (24th Edition)

For over two decades, Wolters Kluwer CCH’s Hong Kong Master Tax Guide 2015/16 has served members of the business community by providing practical guidance on Hong Kong Taxation in an in-depth analytical and
instructive manner.

This latest edition highlights recent legislative changes, alongside commentaries by well-respected professionals in Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu to make this book tremendous valuable for day to day operations.

The Hong Kong Master Tax Guide 2015/16 delivers the most up-to-date development in taxation including:

• The extension of profits tax exemption to offshore private equity funds;
• New comprehensive double tax agreements signed by Hong Kong;
• The developments of the Bases Erosion and Profit Shifting Project;
• The New Tax Information Exchange Agreement; and
• Summaries of tax-related Board of Review and various court cases, complemented by applicable examples for easy illustration.

With this expertly authored and easy-to-read Hong Kong Master Tax Guide 2015/16, readers will be able to find detailed analysis on a myriad of vital tax issues in Hong Kong.

The Hong Kong Master Tax Guide 2015/16 continues to be positioned as an irreplaceable and authoritative reference for a wide range of readers from professionals, tax practitioners and students alike.

Features & Benefits:

• Latest Legislation update up to July 2015.
• Reviewed by the professionals at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, acting as the Technical Reviewer.
• The “Highlights of 2014/15 Revenue Developments” page provides a summary of what’s new in this edition.
• All legislative changes introduced since the 2014/15 edition, as well as the revenue measures announced in the 2015/16 Budget 
• The extension of profits tax exemption to offshore private equity funds
• The developments of the Bases Erosion and Profit Shifting Project
• Worked examples that illustrate the law in practice
• The user-friendly tables on tax rates, personal allowances and due dates for tax returns are handy reference tools.
• Latest decisions of important Board of Review, Court of First Instance, Court of Appeal and Court of Final Appeal tax cases
• Contains user-friendly indexes, section finding list and case table which ensure fast access to information

What’s New in 24th Edition:

Updated Commentary on Tax-Related Court Case Development
Tax court cases included but not limited to Court of Final Appeal’s decisions in Aviation Fuel Supply Company v Commissioner of Inland Revenue.

Legislative Changes
Legislative amendments proposed in the 2014/15 Budget and passed during the 2015/16 year of assessment are updated in this edition. For example, The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2015, which was gazetted on 17 April 2015, which includes increasing the basic and additional child allowances under the salaries tax and personal assessment from $70,000 to $100,000 and reducing salaries tax, tax under personal assessment and profits tax for the year of assessment 2014/15 by 75%, subject to a ceiling of $20,000 per case.
Furthermore, the latest Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance 2015 which was enacted on 17 July 2015 has been included in this edition.

New Departmental Interpretation and Practice Notes
The DIPN No.50 was issued in July 2014 and practice on application of the provisions in section 40AB and Schedule 17A of the Inland Revenue Ordinance.

The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Initiative – “BEPS”
G20 Leaders called on the OECD to launch an initiative in July 2012, to review and reform the international tax system, specifically referring to "the need to prevent base erosion and profit shifting." A first set of recommendations on a number of the Action Points was released on 16 September 2014 in respect of Actions 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, 13 and 15. Further details, recommendations and implementation on other Action Points are expected through 2015.

New Tax Information Exchange Agreement
Pursuant to the wider scope of tax information exchange allowed by the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Ordinance 2013, Hong Kong signed its first tax information exchange agreements with the United States, followed by six more agreements signed with Denmark, Faroes, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The OECD proposals for AEOI were released on 13 February 2014. These proposals have since been endorsed by the majority of jurisdictions around the world, including by Hong Kong, which has stated that it aims to begin automatically exchanging information with selected jurisdictions by the end of 2018. This timeline is however conditional on the necessary legislative framework being put in place by 2017 and the completion of a consultation process.