PART I | 1. This Act may be cited as the Property Tax Act. |
2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —| “account with the electronic service”, in relation to any person, means a computer account within the electronic service which is assigned by the Comptroller to that person for the storage and retrieval of electronic records relating to that person; |
“annual value” —| (a) | in relation to a house or building or land or tenement, not being a wharf, pier, jetty or landing-stage, means the gross amount at which the same can reasonably be expected to be let from year to year, the landlord paying the expenses of repair, insurance, maintenance or upkeep and all taxes (other than goods and services tax); and | | (b) | in relation to a wharf, pier, jetty or landing-stage, means the gross amount at which the same can reasonably be expected to be let from year to year, the tenant paying the expenses of repair, insurance, maintenance or upkeep; |
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| “authentication code”, in relation to any person, means an identification or identifying code, a password or any other authentication method or procedure which is assigned to that person for the purposes of identifying and authenticating the access to and use of the electronic service by that person; |
| “Board” means the Valuation Review Board constituted under section 23; |
| “building” means any structure erected on land and includes any house, hut, shed or similar roofed enclosure, whether used for the purposes of human habitation or otherwise, any slip, dock, wharf, pier, jetty, landing-stage, underground or overground tank for the storage of solids, liquids or gases, and any oil refinery; |
| “Chief Assessor” means the Chief Assessor appointed under section 3; |
| “Comptroller” means the Comptroller of Property Tax appointed under section 3 and includes, for the purposes of this Act except the exercise of the powers conferred upon the Comptroller by sections 6 and 39, a Deputy Comptroller or an Assistant Comptroller so appointed; |
| “dwelling-house” includes a building or tenement wholly or principally used, constructed or adapted for use for human habitation; |
| “electronic record” has the same meaning as in the Electronic Transactions Act (Cap. 88); |
| “electronic service” means the electronic service provided by the Comptroller under section 66(1); |
“industrial premises” means premises, not being freight-transport premises, occupied and used for the purpose of private gain, as a mine or as a factory or workshop, but does not include premises occupied and used as a factory or workshop if such premises are primarily occupied and used for the following purposes or for any combination of such purposes: | (a) | the purposes of a dwelling-house; | | (b) | the purposes of a retail shop; | | (c) | the purposes of distributive wholesale business; | | (d) | the purposes of storage; | | (e) | the purposes of a public supply undertaking; | | (f) | any other purposes, whether or not similar to any of the purposes set out in paragraphs (a) to (e), which are not those of a factory or workshop; |
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| “occupier” means the person in occupation of the premises in respect of which the word is used or having the charge, management or control thereof either on his own account or as agent of another person, but does not include a lodger; |
| “owner” means the person for the time being receiving the rent of any premises whether on his own account or as agent or trustee for any other person or as receiver or who would receive the same if the premises were let to a tenant and includes the person whose name is entered in the Valuation List; |
| “premises” includes messuages, houses, buildings, lands, tenements, easements and hereditaments of any tenure, whether open or enclosed, whether built on or not, whether public or private, and whether maintained or not under statutory authority; |
| “prescribed structural network” means such structural network as the Minister may, by regulations, prescribe; [35/2008 wef 01/01/2009] |
| “property” includes houses, buildings, lands and tenements; |
| “public authority” means such public authority as may be prescribed1 for the purposes of this Act by the Minister; 1 See Cap. 254, N 1. |
“structural network” means a network (whether closed or otherwise) —| (a) | used for any purpose, including for circulation, distribution, transportation or transmission; and | | (b) | comprising —| (i) | railway or rapid transit system lines; | | (ii) | pipelines; | | (iii) | cables (including those situate within pipelines, ducts or conduits); | | (iv) | ducts; or | | (v) | any other type of conduit or channel, |
| including the settings and supports thereof and any related machine, apparatus or equipment; |
[35/2008 wef 01/01/2009] [23/2010 wef 25/10/2010] |
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| “tax” means the property tax imposed by this Act; |
| “Valuation List” means the Valuation List prepared under section 10. [24/65; 19/68; 33/2002; 59/2004] |
| (1A) For the purposes of this Act, a prescribed structural network shall be deemed to be a tenement, and where different parts of a prescribed structural network are owned by different persons, each of such parts shall be deemed to be a tenement. [35/2008 wef 01/01/2009] |
(2) In assessing the annual value of any premises in or upon which there is any machinery used for any of the following purposes:| (a) | the making of any article or part thereof; | | (b) | the altering, repairing, ornamenting or finishing of any article; or | | (c) | the adapting for sale of any article, |
| the enhanced value given to the premises by the presence of such machinery shall not be taken into consideration, and for this purpose “machinery” includes the steam engines, boilers and other motive power belonging to that machinery. |
[24/65] |
| (2A) Where a prescribed structural network situated in or upon any premises is machinery, subsection (2) shall apply only in relation to that part of the prescribed structural network in or upon any house or building. [35/2008 wef 01/01/2009] |
| (2B) Where a person owns one or more of the properties in, upon, under or above which there is any part of a prescribed structural network, as well as the whole or any part of the prescribed structural network, the annual value of those properties and the whole or part of the prescribed structural network (as the case may be) may be assessed together. [35/2008 wef 01/01/2009] |
(3) In assessing the annual value of any property, the annual value of the property shall, at the option of the Chief Assessor, be deemed to be the annual value as defined in this Act or the sum which is equivalent to the annual interest at 5% —| (a) | on the estimated value of the property, including buildings, if any, thereon; or | | (b) | on the estimated value of the land as if it were vacant land with no buildings erected, or being erected, thereon. [24/65] |
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| (4) In estimating the annual value of any house, building, land or tenement, the annual value of the house, building, land or tenement shall, at the option of the Chief Assessor, mean the annual equivalent of the gross rent at which the same is let or licensed to the occupier or occupiers, as the case may be, and in arriving at that annual equivalent the Chief Assessor may also give consideration to any capital or periodical sums or any other consideration whatsoever, if any, which, it appears to the Chief Assessor, may have also been paid. [24/65] |
| (5) Subject to subsection (6), where land is occupied as appurtenant to any house or building, but is in excess of the area fixed by the Comptroller with the sanction of the Minister, the excess land shall be deemed to be vacant land and the annual value shall be separately assessed at a sum which is equivalent to the annual interest at 5% on the estimated value of the land. [24/65] |
| (6) Where the land referred to in subsection (5) is occupied or capable of being developed for building purposes, any money expended with the object of developing that land for building purposes shall be deducted from the estimated improved value of that land for a period of 5 years after such expenditure. [24/65] |
(7) In assessing the annual value of any property which comprises a lot the title of which is issued under the Land Titles (Strata) Act (Cap. 158) —| (a) | the subsidiary proprietor of the lot shall be deemed to be the owner thereof; | | (b) | the annual value of the lot shall be determined as if that lot comprised a freehold estate in land; and | | (c) | no separate annual value shall be attributed to the land upon which the subdivided building stands. [19/68] |
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(8) In assessing the annual value of any property comprised in a statutory land grant or lease of State land or a lease of property by a public authority for a period exceeding 3 years —| (a) | the grantee or lessee of the property shall be deemed to be the owner thereof; | | (b) | the annual value of the property shall be determined as if that property comprised a freehold estate in land; and | | (c) | no deduction shall be made of any premium or rent payable to the Government or the public authority. [19/68] |
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| (9) In assessing the annual value of any property required to be assessed on the basis of gross receipts by any order made under section 7, the Chief Assessor shall determine the annual value of the property in the manner specified in the order and the amount so determined shall be deemed to be the annual value of the property. [4/87] |
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