The Ministry of Finance will be conducting a public consultation on 8 proposed legislative amendments in the draft Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill 2011. This exercise will run from 3 to 23 August 2011.

Proposed Amendments

The draft Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill 2011 implements 2 tax changes announced in Budget 2011. The changes are:

• Extension of stamp duty relief to private companies that convert to Limited Liability Partnerships; and
• Removal of most $2 and $10 nominal and fixed stamp duties on documents.

The draft Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill 2011 also provides for 6 changes identified from regular reviews of the stamp duty regime to improve stamp duty administration. The changes include:

• Alignment of the stamp duty relief for qualifying mergers and acquisitions (M&As) more closely to the conditions in the income tax allowance for qualifying M&As; and
• Provision for the Minister to waive conditions for any relief, remission or exemption of stamp duty.

Consultation Details

The public can access the consultation documents together with the explanations for the draft Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill 2011 on the Ministry of Finance's website and the REACH consultation portal. Respondents may send their comments to the Ministry of Finance directly via the website, email, fax or post.

Ministry of Finance