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Has anyone appeared in court due to court summons for tax-related non-filing?

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jul 2021
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    Has anyone appeared in court due to court summons for tax-related non-filing?

    So...

    I was served a court summons due to not properly filing my salaries tax in the last 2-3 years (I've filed for this year)... various reasons, mostly administrative disarray / unsure how to obtain certain records to get the right numbers, so procrastinating/not wanting to file the numbers incorrectly... in combination with being far too busy at work... all bills had been paid though.

    Got the summons notice a little over a month ago, but in this time have managed to get just enough of the paperwork together and have filed all outstanding tax filings within the last week (with 3 trips to the Revenue Tower... much easier than phone / and faster than email which took 2 weeks to get a full reply...)

    Not really sure what to expect besides showing up this week at court, providing a reason and paying the fine (at least this is what the representative officer told me at the IRD office).

    Would appreciate any guidance/shared experiences?

    Any idea on the estimate fine? (first time offender... definitely not one to do so usually, never even been to court). I'm barely at a managerial level so my salary isn't all that high and I was unemployed for half of last year. My biggest worry is does it leave a record (re: concerns for future job applications)? I'm also not a PR but due to qualify next year.

    Plan to call the senior tax inspectors tomorrow (phone number on the summons letter...), not sure if we can / are supposed to / if it helps to discuss...


  2. #2

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    Sep 2018
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    Quote Originally Posted by f1010p:
    So...

    I was served a court summons due to not properly filing my salaries tax in the last 2-3 years (I've filed for this year)... various reasons, mostly administrative disarray / unsure how to obtain certain records to get the right numbers, so procrastinating/not wanting to file the numbers incorrectly... in combination with being far too busy at work... all bills had been paid though.

    Got the summons notice a little over a month ago, but in this time have managed to get just enough of the paperwork together and have filed all outstanding tax filings within the last week (with 3 trips to the Revenue Tower... much easier than phone / and faster than email which took 2 weeks to get a full reply...)

    Not really sure what to expect besides showing up this week at court, providing a reason and paying the fine (at least this is what the representative officer told me at the IRD office).

    Would appreciate any guidance/shared experiences?

    Any idea on the estimate fine? (first time offender... definitely not one to do so usually, never even been to court). I'm barely at a managerial level so my salary isn't all that high and I was unemployed for half of last year. My biggest worry is does it leave a record (re: concerns for future job applications)? I'm also not a PR but due to qualify next year.

    Plan to call the senior tax inspectors tomorrow (phone number on the summons letter...), not sure if we can / are supposed to / if it helps to discuss...
    You had better come up with a very good excuse. "I was too busy to file my taxes for three years" will not cut it. They are likely to charge up to three times the tax due plus a fixed fine of up to $10k

    If they can somehow prove that you deliberately avoided paying your tax that could be more serious.

  3. #3

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    Jul 2021
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    No I paid it all in full every year when they sent me their assessment… just didn’t manage to file because there were some loose ends with my records…


  4. #4

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    If you have paid and cooperated it should hopefully be a formality...

    Important bit is that it was not yiur intention to evade taxes.

    chuckster007 and f1010p like this.

  5. #5

    I would definitely take some personal legal advice ahead of the hearing. Firms like Boase Cohen Collins or Tanner De Witt or Haldanes.

    Paxbritannia and VillanElle like this.

  6. #6

    Join Date
    May 2020
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    183

    If it's simlar to limited companies being fined for failure to file taxes then it's a straightforward process.

    You won't be the only one there so expect to spend a few hours at court because they usually mix in companies and people at the same time. When they call your name/file no., walk up to the mic and the judge will ask if you plead guilty. Say YES and they will ask if you have anything to say/explain. I've seen people reply long winded answers until the judge cuts them off. Don't do that or they might fine you more lol. Once they give you the penalty (usually 2K-5K based on what I've seen), you can either pay on the same day or you can ask to extend - but that's at the discretion of the judge.

    I suppose it goes on your tax record but I don't think future employers will look at that?!


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    Quote Originally Posted by f1010p:
    No I paid it all in full every year when they sent me their assessment… just didn’t manage to file because there were some loose ends with my records…
    I'm a bit confused by this because they dont send an assessment until after you file, right? Do you mean just in the last month they have assessed the last 2-3 years, and also just in the last month you have paid tax for the last 2-3 years?

    Also not sure what loose ends or records you need to search for to get the numbers right, etc. HK taxes are one of the easiest in the world, if your just a general employee receiving a salary, barely at managerial level, you will barely have taxes to pay to being with, and there are a few standard deductions to claim whether you are married, have kids, maybe can claim your rent or your MPF. There isn't much else to it. This excuse makes more sense in Australia/UK/US where taxes really are complicated, but for HK doesnt really fly. If you really do have loose ends you dont want to post about on here, explain them clearly to the judge and see what they think about it.

  8. #8

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    Jul 2021
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    No, they send an estimate based on your reported salary alone after awhile if you don't file and you can pay it from there... which I have been doing. Part of why unfortunately I didn't see the urgency... If anything I haven't been under-reporting but missing out on some deductions, which I only learned of later.

    You're right... in hindsight now I do see that it's relatively straight-forward, and it's a pretty stupid lesson learned/situation that could've been avoided. I had more of a mentality of not wanting to file until I had everything in order, now only learning from the IRD that it's better to just file on time and write a letter for amendments afterwards (it it really needs to be done that way...)

    But I do think it can take some time to read through and patience to get all the information you need. For me, going down to the office helped way more but I live far from it and it wasn't something I was able to do this year during work hours until last week. And I think a lot of younger people / new filers don't know that there is possible leniency around to things like late fees (i.e. writing a letter to request) and resort to avoiding it...

    I jointly own a property but not with a spouse, hence wasn't sure whether I could take on the others' part in interest deductions as they're not working at the moment and don't have salaries tax to report (the answer is no - b/c not a spouse, this answer is not clear online). After moving, I misplaced some employer files and wasn't even sure how much mortgage interest I could deduct and how much MPF-wise...

    All in all... the actual reasoning might not be very strong but it was just an honest mistake of postponing too long to get things together (various personal reasons too last year - losing a family member overseas and my job at the height of COVID) thinking it was not too urgent given I've paid my taxes, but by no means was trying to avoid it and it's all filed now... So not sure what else I can do at this stage aside from just showing up this week and getting it over with...


  9. #9

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    Dec 2009
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    Plead guilty, grovel and promise you will not do it again.

    Do not make up any lame excuses.

    Pay the fine (if any) on time.

    f1010p and shri like this.

  10. #10

    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    Oh I didnt know IRD sent an assessment anyway if you didn't file. In that case, you've probably been overpaying taxes and IRD owes you some money back once you get your act together and file things properly. So I think this is the part you should emphasise to the court and also be clear you have been paying every year (and in your mind overpaying).

    But you might owe some property taxes and this might be your undoing, if its a joint property then you need to file those separately on form BIR57. You can only do the property tax together with salary tax (BIR60) if you are the sole owner of the property.

    f1010p likes this.

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