Give Your Views On Changes To Income Tax Act

The Ministry of Finance invites comments from members of the public on proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act (ITA).

2. This ITA consultation exercise stretches over 4 weeks from 4 June 2005 to 3 July 2005. It seeks feedback from all interested parties on areas of the draft legislation that require greater clarity or would make compliance difficult.

3. Some of the Budget 2005 tax changes to be legislated include the introduction of loss carry-back, the reduction of withholding tax on REIT distributions and the enhancement of the tax incentive for start-up fund management companies.

4. In addition to tax changes announced in Budget 2005, there are other changes to improve tax administration, including accelerated write-off for assets below $1,000.

5. The consultation paper, draft Income Tax (Amendment) Bill 2005 and accompanying documents will be available at the government's central consultation portal as well as the MOF website from 4 June 2005. Respondents may send their comments to the Ministry of Finance directly from the website, or separately via email, fax or post.

6. The draft Bill will be tabled for its First Reading in Parliament in September 2005. To facilitate the timely enactment of the legislation, the Ministry would not be able to consider comments submitted after the deadline of 3 July 2005.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE