A BACKLOG of more than 180,000 property transaction cases have been accumulated by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) for assessment for profits tax, revealed Mr Jenney. The Commissioner of Inland Revenue Mr Anthony Au Yeung Fu was also asked to review his criteria for conducting more in-depth investigation of some cases. Under existing law, profits tax could be charged on an individual only after it was established that the person involved was carrying on a trade or business in properties in Hongkong. Government statistics estimate that for unincorporated businesses and individuals, the total profits tax assessed in the financial year ending March 31, 1992, on profits arising from property dealing was $163 million. Questionnaires were distributed by Mr Au Yeung's department during property transactions which enabled the department to identify the sellers and buyers. But in a review conducted by the Audit Department in December 1992, it was discovered that a total 181,000 questionnaires had not yet been processed, some of them dated as early as December 1991. Mr Jenney recommended that the IRD should speed up its screening of cases.
