In 2023-24 Budget, the Financial Secretary announced that Hong Kong planned to apply the global minimum effective tax rate of 15 per cent on multinational enterprise groups with annual consolidated revenue of at least 750 million euros under the BEPS 2.0 package and implement the Hong Kong minimum top-up tax (HKMTT) from 2025 onwards.

As you may recall, earlier, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) has commenced a consultation exercise to gather views on the specific implementation issues on or before 20 March 2024. The consultation paper is available on the website of the FSTB (https://www.fstb.gov.hk/tb/en/others/consultation.htm).

More recently, the FSTB has invited the Hong Kong Shipowners Association (HKSOA), among others, to join an engagement session to be conducted online (in English) by the FSTB and the Inland Revenue Department on 12 January 2024. During the session, the government will provide a presentation on the consultation paper and exchange views with participants.

If you are interested to attend, I would be grateful if you would let us know as soon as possible so that we could provide the link details. (As only up to five HKSOA members be expected to join the engagement session, we may not be able to give access to all.)