The Financial Services Council (FSC) has welcomed the opening of negotiations with the Council of the European Union aimed at creating an Australia-EU free trade agreement.
The deal would be expected to benefit the Australian financial services industry as it would lower barriers for Australian firms in accessing the EU economy.
At the same time, the FSC stressed that Australia would need to put in place a Double Tax Agreement (DTA) with Luxembourg to help its consumers avoid missing out on substantial gains from any free trade agreement with the EU.
Luxembourg is said to be the second largest funds industry in the world.
FSC chief executive, Sally Loane said that so far Australian investment managers had limited ability to expand in the region.
“Currently only 3.6 per cent of Australian funds under management are sourced from offshore. To ensure the benefits of this agreement are maximised for Australia, we need to ensure our tax and regulatory settings are competitive with Europe, otherwise we will see Australia lose out,” she said.
The FSC also said it would urge the Government to take the necessary steps and negotiate these agreements, with an active role played by both Treasury and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
