Macau (MNA) – The Macau SAR Administrative Council announced on Wednesday that it has completed the Vehicle Taxation Relief Scheme for vehicles affected by Typhoon Hato last August.
The Chief Executive spokesperson, Leong Heng Teng explained that the scheme would only benefit owners of affected vehicles who had lodged the cancellation of their vehicle registration with the Transport Bureau (DSAT) prior to September 18 last year.
There are four requirements that affected owners must meet in order to obtain a reduction or rebate of vehicle taxes when purchasing new vehicles, the spokesperson said.
The requirements include having paid the tax for their old vehicle, and the number of new vehicles purchased being the same as the number of damaged vehicles.
In addition, the category of new vehicle purchased – car, motorcycle, etc. – must be the same as the damaged one, and ownership of new vehicles should not be transferred prior to obtaining the tax rebate.
With regards to the amount that can be refunded, if the owner wishes to purchase a new vehicle within two years of the implementation of the scheme, the tax for the new vehicle would be deducted by an amount calculated according to the tax previously paid for the damaged vehicle, after it is rounded off according to the net value rate (Table 1) representing the years that the damaged vehicles have been used.
| No. of years the damaged vehicle had used | Net value rate |
| 1 year or below | 100 per cent |
| 1 year to 2 years | 90 per cent |
| 2 years to 3 years | 80 per cent |
| 3 years to 4 years | 70 per cent |
| 4 years to 5 years | 60 per cent |
| 5 years to 6 years | 50 per cent |
| 6 years to 7 years | 40 per cent |
| 7 years to 8 years | 30 per cent |
| 8 years to 9 years | 20 per cent |
| 9 years to 10 years | 10 per cent |
Table 1. Net value rate for tax rebate calculation
For the acquisition of new automobiles, the amount to be deducted equals 80 per cent of the calculation referred to above, with the lowest reduction amount set at MOP8,000 and a cap of MOP140,000.
Buyers of new heavy or light motor vehicles will have a cap of MOP5,500 with the lowest amount for tax rebate at MOP2,000, and the reduction equalling the total amount based on the calculation referred to above.
Leong affirmed that owners would still be able to get the tax rebates even if new vehicles are purchased before the official implementation of the scheme.
He also explained that the scheme allows those who want to purchase green energy vehicles to obtain the refund from their damaged vehicles, in addition to the tax exemption for purchasing green vehicles.
The director of the Financial Services Bureau (DSF), Iong Kong Leong revealed that a total of 6,521 vehicles that were damaged by Typhoon Hato had their registrations cancelled, involving some MOP147 million in tax refund.
[Edited by Sheyla Zandonai]
