Hong Kong SAR

New legislation enacted

The following legislation was enacted in the past 12 months:

• The Stamp Duty (Amendment) (Stock Transfers) Ordinance 2023 was gazetted on 16 November 2023 to give effect to the measure of reducing the rate of stamp duty on Hong Kong stock transfers to 0.1% from the prior rate of 0.13% of the transaction value payable by each of the buyer and the seller.
• The Stamp Duty (Amendment) (Residential Properties) Bill 2023 was gazetted on 27 October 2023 to give effect to the demand-side management measures for residential properties, which include (i) shortening the applicable period of the special stamp duty from 36 months to 24 months, (ii) reducing the respective rates of the buyer’s stamp duty and new residential stamp duty from 15% to 7.5%, and (iii) introducing a stamp duty suspension arrangement for incoming talents’ acquisition of residential properties.
• The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Child Allowance and Tax Concessions) Ordinance 2023 was gazetted on 28 April 2023 to give effect to (i) the 100% reduction of salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for the year of assessment 2022/23, subject to a cap of 6,000 Hong Kong dollars (HKD), and (ii) increasing the basic child allowance and the additional child allowance for each child born during the year of assessment from HKD 120,000 to HKD 130,000 starting from the year of assessment 2023/24.