On 27 January 2017, Hong Kong government published the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2017. The legislation introduces a new flat rate of 15% for the ad valorem stamp duty chargeable on residential property transactions, in lieu of the existing progressive rates up to 8.5%. The new rate will generally apply to all transactions of residential property acquired by individuals or companies. However, the current reduced rates will continue to apply for Hong Kong permanent resident that do not own a…