FSC welcomes Govt decision to expand Fintech Select Committee
The Financial Services Council (FSC) has welcomed Parliament’s decision to expand the scope and length of the Fintech Select Committee to focus on initiatives to help Australia become a technology and finance centre.
The FSC said it was pleased to see the committee would focus on options to replace the Offshore Banking Unit (OBU) regime, which the Government had recently announced would shortly come to an end.
Blake Briggs, acting FSC chief executive, said the OBU regime encouraged globally-mobile financial services companies to be located in Australia and its imminent closure could cause operations to be taken offshore.
“It is critical the Government use the Fintech Select Committee to finalise measures that will ensure these activities remain in Australia,” Briggs said.
“The FSC has long urged the Federal Government to remove the barriers to the funds management sector becoming more globally competitive.
“The recent report of the ‘Australia as a Financial and Technology Centre Advisory Report’ set a roadmap for the reforms that are required to achieve the goal of promoting growth.
“The FSC recommends the Committee prioritise the implementation of Corporate Collective Investment Vehicle (CCIV) with competitive tax settings; amending the Investment Manger Regime rules; and removing the withholding tax applying to funds issued under the Asia Region Funds Passport program.”
The FSC said it looked forward to consulting with the Government and the committee to ensure Australia remained” an attractive destination” for global financial services companies.
AUTHOR
Chris Dastoor
Recommended for you
The FSCP has announced its latest verdict, suspending an adviser’s registration for failing to comply with his obligations when providing advice to three clients.
Having sold Madison to Infocus earlier this year, Clime has now set up a new financial advice licensee with eight advisers.
With licensees such as Insignia looking to AI for advice efficiencies, they are being urged to write clear AI policies as soon as possible to prevent a “Wild West” of providers being used by their practices.
Iress has revealed the number of clients per adviser that top advice firms serve, as well as how many client meetings they conduct each week.
