Summary of Responses to Public Consultation on Property Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017

24 suggestions received on the draft Property Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017

1. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) held a public consultation exercise on the draft Property Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017 from 4 May to 25 May 2017^[1]. The draft Bill provided for changes to the Property Tax Act to update the legislation and to improve tax administration. These are:

1. The basis to implement an “opt-out” approach for digital property tax notices will be provided.

2. The information gathering powers of the Comptroller of Property Tax, the Chief Assessor and their authorised officers will be clarified and enhanced.

3. Machinery that is used for providing the setting / controlled environment for business and industrial processes to take place in the building or for storage of articles is to be assessed, together with the land or building on which it has been affixed, for property tax.

2. MOF received 24 suggestions on the above proposed amendments. Following the feedback, we will proceed to include in the Property Tax (Amendment) Bill 2017 the first two proposed amendments. We will study further the proposed amendment relating to the exemption of machinery from property tax, and not include this in the Bill.

3. MOF would like to thank all individuals and organisations who have taken the time and effort to provide their inputs.

^[1] Please refer to the earlier press release for further information.