Since our last conference in February 2006, the focus of the financial services industry has been pursuing new opportunities domestically and internationally. The title of this year's conference, Financial Services Unleashed, reflects this, the aim being to provide technical and practical insights into the taxation issues that are emerging. Themes addressed during the conference included:
- increased international investment, particularly in infrastructure, supported by legislative developments such as conduit foreign income and foreign hybrids, but constrained by provisions such as Divisions 6B and 6C
- product developments and convergence, supported by fundamental superannuation reform, but with the new concerns of promoter penalties and the constant battle to rationalise legacy products
- capital management, examining both the raising and returning of capital, looking at buybacks, sophisticated capital raisings and tainting.
- increased international investment, particularly in infrastructure, supported by legislative developments such as conduit foreign income and foreign hybrids, but constrained by provisions such as Divisions 6B and 6C
- product developments and convergence, supported by fundamental superannuation reform, but with the new concerns of promoter penalties and the constant battle to rationalise legacy products
- capital management, examining both the raising and returning of capital, looking at buybacks, sophisticated capital raisings and tainting.