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The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2007, which seeks to further enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) System, will be gazetted tomorrow (June 15).
One of the major proposals of the Bill is to include the housing allowance and benefit in the definition of "relevant income" for the purpose of calculating the MPF contributions. Another major proposal is to improve the recovery mechanism for arrears of MPF contributions.
A government spokesman said today (June 14), "We consider the legislative amendments to include the housing allowance and benefit in the definition of 'relevant income' the most effective way to rectify the irregularities that some employers deliberately designate a portion of their employees' income as housing allowance in order to evade or reduce their responsibilities for making MPF contributions."
"We consider that housing allowance and benefit should be treated in the same way as other remuneration items in determining if it forms part of 'relevant income'", the spokesman added.
Other legislative proposals in the Bill could be broadly classified into three categories:
*to enhance the enforcement of the MPF System;
*to improve administration and regulation of MPF schemes; and
*to implement other technical and miscellaneous amendments.
"Given the importance of the MPF System to the community, it is essential that it should be constantly reviewed to ensure it continues to serve the needs of the existing and potential scheme members.
"The proposed amendments of the Bill are recommended by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority to further enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the MPF System in the light of operational experience," the spokesman said.
The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council on June 27.
Ends/Thursday, June 14, 2007
Issued at HKT 14:31
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