Australia: amendments to tax legislation to attract investment in property, equities and qualified assets
Description
The Australian government introduced amendments to the tax legislation in an attempt to attract investment. The Managed Investment Fund is supposed to become more attractive for investors in property, equities and other assets. The amendment allow only the "substantial proportion" of the investment management activies to be carried out in Australia in contrast to the previous version all such activities had to be carried in Australia to obtain the benefit of the concessional withholding tax rules. The Act also expanded the range of qualifying investors to include foreign government pension plans, certain government agencies, etc. Many rules governing the Fund have been made more flexible including the extension of the transitional period when investors have to restructure their arrangements to comply with the new MIT. The measures taken should encourage on-going investment in Australia.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered:
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 1 Aug 2010
GTA Evaluation: Green
Source:
As reported by Baker and McKenzie
Australia - Managed Investment Trusts Update - More Amendments to MIT Definition, August 2010
Government Response:
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