Proposed Australian tax changes beneficial for sovereign investors 1 December 2009 Proposed tax changes released for consultation will be beneficial for sovereign investors. The Australian Assistant Treasurer, Senator Nick Sherry, said that the proposed changes are to income tax law to formalise the existing tax practice of exempting certain income earned by foreign governments. “Currently, there are about 50 sovereign wealth funds around the world with approximately US$3.8 trillion under management and it’s expected that this will rise to around US$10 trillion by 2015.” Senator Sherry said that the Government wanted to provide certainty to these funds for those considering investing in Australia. “This measure will greatly assist in delivering that outcome.” The consultation paper, which closes submission on 5 February 2010, seeks comments on the broad legislative design principles of the proposed changes. More information |