In this article, the author contrasts terminology used in the OECD Common Reporting Standard and the Hong Kong rules to adopt it, which are set out in amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance in 2016 and 2017. The article discusses the inconsistencies in logic in the Hong Kong terminology. The author also compares the legislative practices of other offshore finance centres on the use of the same terminology, and advocates legislative amendment to rectify the discrepancies.