How on earth did Australia become a country with sovereign risk concerns? We have gone from a position of being a strong, safe democracy with a reliable (if expensive) tax system, to being viewed as increasingly expensive for investment due to the myriad of “boutique taxes” being introduced – not to mention the additional costs to comply and understand these taxes.
David Russell, QC, CTA (Life) looks at the impact of recent tax policy changes and the ongoing uncertainty on the attractiveness of Australia as an investment destination, including the impact of:
- retrospective legislation
- unknown legislative rules
- inappropriate considerations being taken into account in legislative policy
- impact of the mining tax and the carbon tax on existing long-term investments.