AL Plenary | New rules on tax information exchange to be applied

The amendment of the current Law on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters was passed at the Legislative Assembly (AL), yesterday, with the support of 24 members.

The amendment establishes new rules for the financial transparency of Macau-based persons and companies that have tax residency abroad.

The amendment will comply with the Common Reporting Standard and Due Diligence on Financial Account Information (CRS) from the United Nations  Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 

CRS demands that all countries need to share this tax information in an automated system and that these automated systems are to be operational by 2018. 

Mak Soi Kun asked who would be responsible for the information’s confidential transfer, and questioned whether the government can assure that the law will be applied in 2018, as the government needs to purchase equipment for implementation of the law and also needs to apply for ISO certification for the equipment it will purchase.

Lam Heong Sang questioned what the differences are between this new law and the current version, and whether there were any violations regarding the current law.

Chan Iek Lap noted that the new law mainly refers to U.S. residents, and has questioned what the authority would do regarding people who hold dual citizenship with Macau and the U.S.

In addition, Chan wants to know how many Macau residents possess U.S. citizenship.

The Financial Services Bureau’s (DSF) director Iong Kong Leong explained that to oblige by international agreements on providing tax information from 2018, the financial institutions will need to start collecting data from July 1.

Iong added this law is not only related to the U.S., but is related to all countries which have signed agreements with Macau.

Macau residents are not involved in this exchange agreement, according to the DSF’s spokesperson, who reaffirmed that those who do not have an overseas identity will not be included into the system.

“Macau residents’ information is not needed for exchange,” said Iong, noting that his bureau does not possess any documents regarding Macau residents who are also U.S. residents, because the law has not yet come into effect.

Regarding violations of the current version of the law, Iong said that everything has been happening smoothly for all these years.

During the implementation of the current law, the authority received around 20 requests for information exchange.

Answering a query by José Pereira Coutinho, Iong mentioned that records of such information should be kept for a period of five years.

Chui Sai Peng noted that when a third country asks Macau to send them tax information regarding their residents, the country might be abusing their power.

Chui has doubts on how the Macau authority ensures that taxpayer rights are protected under these situations.

Iong said that not only will Macau keep it confidential if a third country requests it to do so, but the third country will also apply the same rule when requested by Macau.

The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, added that this exchange agreement is equal and reciprocal.

Leong said that the Macau authority only delivered the bill now because Hong Kong passed a related bill last June, which Macau has to acknowledge.

The amended law will also establish administrative penalties regarding the responsibilities of the entities, personal data protection and the principle of confidentiality as well as empowering the DSF with the ability to undertake and manage the exchanges and supervise the financial institutions that would perform automated exchanges.

On the lawmakers’ agenda

RESTAURANT INSPECTIONS  Chan Meng Kam has complained about the government’s recent and frequent inspections of the city’s restaurants. Chan said that the restaurant industry deemed the Civil and Municipal Affairs Bureau’s (IACM) early morning inspections as inappropriate and a sign that the IACM is unaware of the industry’s working mode. 

Chan questioned the IACM’s expectations, asking how the IACM could reasonably expect kitchens to be kept as new after years of usage. Chan also questioned whether the authority considers it unnecessary to inspect other public places; such as hospitals, and the state of their emergency exit signs. This particularly pointed question is a response to the IACM food safety center’s requirement for restaurants to change their existing exit sign to a particular type, while hospitals use different types.

SELECTION OF CIVIL SERVANTS  Song Pek Kei said that the latest report by the Commission Against Corruption revealed brazen illegal action taken by public departments.

Song deemed that disorder within the public administration has not stopped, and that it has become a problem of not just one department or individual.

Song noted that the situation in recent years has shown that the city’s public administration problems have become more and more serious and more frequent as it also involves groups.

Song has suggested that the government publicize its selection process for major and minor leadership roles.

HIDING OFFICIALS  José Pereira Coutinho has commented on a few officials who are in debt and are known for confining themselves to their offices and delegating an unfair amount of their responsibilities to their subordinates.

More precisely, he was criticizing the Housing Bureau’s heads, as the department recently provided false or incomplete information to hundreds of affordable houses’ applicants, and through disseminating this information they were, in essence, “cheating” the applicants.

Coutinho also said that many residents have lost their patience reading the Commission Against Corruption’s yearly report, since “these reports are all the same,” because the government has not investigated the people allegedly responsible for the corruption.