AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF 

THE HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF 

THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA FOR THE EXCHANGE 

OF INFORMATION RELATING TO TAXES

The Government of the United States of America (the “United States”)

and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of 

the People’s Republic of China (the “Hong Kong Special Administrative 

Region”), desiring to facilitate the exchange of information with respect 

to taxes, have agreed as follows:
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ARTICLE 1

Object and Scope of this Agreement

The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall provide 

assistance to each other through exchange of information that is 

foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the 

internal laws of the Contracting Parties concerning taxes covered by this 

Agreement. Such information shall include information that is 

foreseeably relevant to the determination, assessment and collection of 

such taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims, or the 

investigation or prosecution of tax matters. Information shall be 

exchanged in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and shall 

be treated as confidential in the manner provided in Article 7 

(Confidentiality).

ARTICLE 2

Jurisdiction

A requested Party shall not be obligated to provide information that is 

neither held by its authorities nor in the possession or control of persons 

who are within its geographic area of jurisdiction. With respect to 

information held by its authorities or in the possession or control of 

persons who are within its geographic area of jurisdiction, however, the 

requested Party shall provide information in accordance with this 

Agreement regardless of the residence or nationality of the person 

holding the information or to whom the information relates.
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ARTICLE 3

Taxes Covered

1. This Agreement shall apply to the following taxes imposed by the

Contracting Parties:

(a) in the case of the United States,

(i) federal taxes on income;

(ii) federal taxes related to employment and 

self-employment;

(iii) federal estate and gift taxes; and 

(iv) federal excise taxes;

(b) in the case of the Hong Kong Special Administrative 

Region,

(i) profits tax;

(ii) salaries tax; and 

(iii) property tax;

whether or not charged under personal assessment.

2. This Agreement shall also apply to any identical taxes imposed 

after the date of signature of this Agreement in addition to or in 

place of the existing taxes. This Agreement shall also apply to any 

substantially similar taxes imposed after the date of signature of 

the Agreement in addition to or in place of the existing taxes if the 

competent authorities of the Contracting Parties so agree in 
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writing. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties shall 

notify each other of any substantial changes to the taxation and 

related information gathering measures covered by this 

Agreement.

ARTICLE 4

Definitions

1. For the purposes of this Agreement, unless otherwise defined:

(a) the term “Contracting Party” means the United States or the 

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as the context 

requires;

(b) the term “competent authority” means:

(i) in the case of the United States, the Secretary of the 

Treasury or his delegate, and

(ii) in the case of the Hong Kong Special Administrative 

Region, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue or his 

authorized representative;

(c) the term “person” includes an individual, a company and 

any other body of persons;

(d) the term “company” means any body corporate or any entity 

that is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;

(e) the term “publicly traded company” means any company 

whose principal class of shares is listed on a recognized 

stock exchange if the purchase or sale of its listed shares is 
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not implicitly or explicitly restricted to a limited group of 

investors;

(f) the term “principal class of shares” means the class or 

classes of shares representing a majority of the voting power 

and value of the company;

(g) the term “recognized stock exchange” means any stock 

exchange agreed upon by the competent authorities of the 

Contracting Parties;

(h) the term “public collective investment fund or scheme” 

means any pooled investment vehicle, irrespective of legal 

form, if the purchase, sale or redemption of the units, shares 

or other interests in the investment vehicle is not implicitly 

or explicitly restricted to a limited group of investors;

(i) the term “tax” means any tax to which this Agreement 

applies and does not include customs duties;

(j) the term “applicant Party” means the Contracting Party 

requesting information;

(k) the term “requested Party” means the Contracting Party 

requested to provide information;

(l) the term “information gathering measures” means laws and 

administrative or judicial procedures that enable a 

Contracting Party to obtain and provide the requested 

information; 

(m) the term “information” means any fact, statement or record 

in any form whatever; and
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(n) the term “geographic area of jurisdiction” means:

(i) in the case of the United States, the territory of the 

United States of America, including American 

Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto 

Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and any other U.S. 

possession or territory; and

(ii) in the case of the Hong Kong Special Administrative 

Region, the geographic area of jurisdiction within 

which the tax laws of the Hong Kong Special 

Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of 

China apply.

2. As regards the application of this Agreement at any time by a 

Contracting Party, any term not defined therein shall, unless the 

context otherwise requires or the competent authorities agree to a 

common meaning pursuant to the provisions of Article 9 (Mutual 

Agreement Procedure), have the meaning that it has at that time 

under the law of that Party, any meaning under the applicable tax 

laws of that Party prevailing over a meaning given to the term 

under other laws of that Party.

ARTICLE 5

Exchange of Information Upon Request

1. The competent authority of the requested Party shall provide 

information for the purposes referred to in Article 1 (Object and 

Scope of this Agreement) upon request by the competent authority 

of the applicant Party. Such information shall be exchanged 

without regard to whether the requested Party needs such 

information for its own tax purposes or whether the conduct being 
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investigated would constitute a crime under the laws of the 

requested Party if such conduct occurred in the requested Party.

2. If the information in the possession of the competent authority of 

the requested Party is not sufficient to enable it to comply with the 

request for information, the requested Party shall use all relevant 

information gathering measures to provide the applicant Party 

with the information requested, notwithstanding that the requested 

Party may not need such information for its own tax purposes. In 

the execution of a request by the requested Party, only those 

privileges under the laws and practices of the requested Party shall 

apply.

3. If specifically requested by the competent authority of the 

applicant Party, the competent authority of the requested Party 

shall provide information under this Article, to the extent 

allowable under its internal laws, in the form of depositions of 

witnesses and authenticated copies of original records.

4. Each Contracting Party shall ensure that its competent authority, 

for the purposes specified in Article 1 (Object and Scope of this 

Agreement) of this Agreement, has the authority to obtain and 

provide upon request:

(a) information held by banks, other financial institutions, and 

any person acting in an agency or fiduciary capacity 

including nominees and trustees; and

(b) information regarding the ownership of companies, 

partnerships, trusts, foundations, “Anstalten” and other 

persons, including, within the constraints of Article 2 

(Jurisdiction), ownership information on all such persons in 

an ownership chain; in the case of trusts, information on 

settlors, trustees and beneficiaries; and in the case of 
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foundations, information on founders, members of the 

foundation council and beneficiaries. 

Notwithstanding subparagraph 4(b), this Agreement does not 

create an obligation on the Contracting Parties to obtain or provide 

ownership information with respect to publicly traded companies 

or public collective investment funds or schemes unless such 

information can be obtained without giving rise to 

disproportionate difficulties to the requested Party.

5. The competent authority of the applicant Party shall provide the 

following information to the competent authority of the requested 

Party when making a request for information under this 

Agreement to demonstrate the foreseeable relevance of the 

information to the request:

(a) the identity of the person or ascertainable group or category 

of persons under examination or investigation;

(b) a statement of the information sought, including its nature 

and the form in which the applicant Party wishes to receive 

the information from the requested Party;

(c) the period of time with respect to which the information is 

requested;

(d) the tax purpose for which the information is sought 

including the tax type of the applicant Party;

(e) grounds for believing that the information requested is 

foreseeably relevant to tax administration or enforcement of 

the applicant Party with respect to the person or group or 

category of persons identified in subparagraph 5(a);
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(f) grounds for believing that the information requested is held 

in the requested Party or is in the possession or control of a 

person within the jurisdiction of the requested Party;

(g) to the extent known, the name and address of any person 

believed to be in possession or control of the requested 

information;

(h) a statement that the request is in conformity with the law 

and administrative practices of the applicant Party, that if 

the requested information was within the jurisdiction of the 

applicant Party then the competent authority of the 

applicant Party would be able to obtain the information 

under the laws of the applicant Party or in the normal course 

of administrative practice and that it is in conformity with 

this Agreement; and

(i) a statement that the applicant Party has pursued all means 

available in its geographic area of jurisdiction to obtain the 

information, except those that would give rise to 

disproportionate difficulties.

ARTICLE 6

Possibility of Declining a Request

1. The requested Party shall not be required to obtain or provide 

information that the applicant Party would not be able to obtain 

under its own laws for purposes of the administration or 

enforcement of its own tax laws. The competent authority of the 

requested Party may decline to assist where the request is not made 

in conformity with this Agreement. The competent authority of 

the requested Party may decline to assist where the applicant Party 

has not pursued all means available in its geographic area of 
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jurisdiction to obtain the information, except those that would give 

rise to disproportionate difficulties. 

2. The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a 

Contracting Party the obligation to supply information that would 

disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial or 

professional secret or trade process. Notwithstanding the 

foregoing, information of the type referred to in Article 5 

(Exchange of Information upon Request), paragraph 4 shall not be 

treated as such a secret or trade process merely because it meets 

the criteria in that paragraph.

3. The provisions of this Agreement shall not impose on a 

Contracting Party the obligation to obtain or provide information 

that would reveal confidential communications between a client 

and an attorney, solicitor or other admitted legal representative 

where such communications are:

(a) produced for the purposes of seeking or providing legal 

advice; or

(b) produced for the purposes of use in existing or contemplated 

legal proceedings.

4. The requested Party may decline a request for information if the 

disclosure of the information would be contrary to public policy 

(ordre public).

5. A request for information shall not be refused on the ground that 

the tax claim giving rise to the request is disputed.
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ARTICLE 7

Confidentiality

Any information received by a Contracting Party under this Agreement 

shall be treated as confidential and may be disclosed only to persons or 

authorities (including courts and administrative bodies) in the 

jurisdiction of the Contracting Party concerned with the assessment or 

collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the 

determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by this 

Agreement. Such persons or authorities shall use such information only 

for such purposes. They may disclose the information in public court 

proceedings or in judicial decisions. The information may not be 

disclosed to any other person, entity, authority or jurisdiction.

ARTICLE 8

Costs

Unless the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties otherwise 

agree, ordinary costs incurred in providing assistance shall be borne by 

the requested Party and extraordinary costs incurred in providing 

assistance shall be borne by the applicant Party.

ARTICLE 9

Mutual Agreement Procedure

1. Where difficulties or doubts arise between the Contracting Parties 

regarding the implementation or interpretation of this Agreement, 

the competent authorities shall endeavor to resolve the matter by 

mutual agreement.
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2. The competent authorities may adopt and implement procedures to 

facilitate the implementation of this Agreement.

3. The competent authorities of the Contracting Parties may 

communicate with each other directly for purposes of reaching a 

mutual agreement under this Article.

ARTICLE 10

Entry Into Force

This Agreement shall enter into force on the date of the Hong Kong 

Special Administrative Region’s written notification to the United States 

that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has completed its 

necessary internal procedures for entry into force of this Agreement. The 

provisions of this Agreement shall have effect for requests made on or 

after the date of entry into force, in respect of any period that starts on or 

after the date of entry into force, and for all charges to tax arising on or 

after the date of entry into force.

ARTICLE 11

Termination

1. The Agreement shall remain in force until terminated by a 

Contracting Party. 

2. Either Contracting Party may terminate the Agreement by giving 

notice of termination in writing to the other Contracting Party. 

Such termination shall become effective on the first day of the 

month following the expiration of a period of six months after the 

date of the notice of termination.
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3. If the Agreement is terminated, both Contracting Parties shall 

remain bound by the provisions of Article 7 (Confidentiality) with 

respect to any information obtained under the Agreement.

In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by 

their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement. 

Done at in duplicate, in the English language, 

this day of , 20 .

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF 

THE UNITED STATES OF 

AMERICA:

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF 

THE HONG KONG SPECIAL 

ADMINISTRATIVE REGION 

OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC 

OF CHINA:
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PROTOCOL

TO THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF 

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE 

GOVERNMENT OF THE HONG KONG SPECIAL 

ADMINISTRATIVE REGION OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC 

OF CHINA FOR THE EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION 

RELATING TO TAXES

On the signing today of the Agreement between the Government of the 

United States of America and the Government of the Hong Kong Special 

Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China for the 

Exchange of Information Relating to Taxes (“the Agreement”), the two 

Governments have agreed to the following:

1. With reference to subparagraph (n)(ii) of paragraph 1 of Article 4

(Definitions) of the Agreement, the Government of the Hong 

Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of 

China notes that the “geographic area of jurisdiction” within 

which the tax laws of the Hong Kong Special Administrative 

Region of the People’s Republic of China apply includes the 

Shenzhen Bay Port Hong Kong Port Area.

2. With reference to Article 7 (Confidentiality) of the Agreement, in 

the case of the United States, the competent authority may disclose 

information received under the Agreement to administrative 

bodies that are authorized to review tax return information under 

its domestic confidentiality laws, including bodies whose duties 

include auditing the tax authority (the Treasury Inspector General 

for Tax Administration and the congressional Government 

Accountability Office) and bodies whose duties require inquiries 

into tax administration for planning tax law enactments and 

implementation and proposing tax law changes (the Office of the 

Treasury Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy and the tax-writing 

committees in Congress).
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This Protocol shall enter into force on the date of entry into force of the 

Agreement and shall form an integral part of the Agreement.

In witness whereof, the undersigned, being duly authorized thereto by 

their respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.

Done at in duplicate, in the English language, 

this day of , 20 .

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF 

THE UNITED STATES OF 

AMERICA:

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF 

THE HONG KONG SPECIAL 

ADMINISTRATIVE REGION 

OF THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC 

OF CHINA: