Govt reviews tax impediments to Islamic finance
The Federal Government has initiated a review of Australian taxation laws to determine whether they need to be amended to give Islamic finance parity with conventional financial services product offerings.
The Minister for Financial Services, Chris Bowen, backed earlier announcements by the Assistant Treasurer, Nick Sherry, on the encouragement of Islamic finance in Australia, by saying the Government was undertaking “work to remove unnecessary legal and taxation barriers” to the sector.
Bowen said that in addition to work by the Board of Taxation, the Government had established an interdepartmental committee to look at the barriers to Islamic finance.
He said the interdepartmental committee would be guided by the principle that there should be no obstacles to — and no special treatment of — Islamic finance products.
Bowen said that an opportunity existed for Australian-based banks to provide a range of Islamic-compliant investment and financing products and services to Islamic banks, corporations and high-net-worth individuals — particularly in the wholesale market.
AUTHOR
Mike Taylor
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