12 May 2010 – As part of the Government’s commitment to positioning Australia as a leading financial services centre, the Government has announced the appointment of the Board of Taxation to undertake a comprehensive review of the taxation of collective investment vehicles (CIV).
The details of the review were announced by the Government on 12 May 2010 and will cover all aspects of the tax treatment of CIVs. The Board has also been asked to specifically assess the benefits of extending tax flow-through treatment for CIVs based on the character of their activities as opposed to the entity form, which could see recommendations for flow through taxation for non-trust CIVs in line with direct taxation for investors.
The review follows recent changes to the tax treatment of Australian Managed Investment Trusts in response to recommendations made by the Board with a view to implementing simple, clear and harmonised tax rules to make the financial sector more efficient for Australian and foreign investors.
The Board is required to report its findings for CIVs by December 2011.