Chasing Islamic Finance : A Framework to Assess the Potential Benefits of Australian Tax Reforms to Facilitate Islamic Finance

Based on recommendations by the Australian Financial Centre Forum, the Australian Government is pursuing an agenda of reforms to provide for greater facilitation of Islamic finance – the banking and finance systems based on Islamic beliefs (Sherry, 2010; Bowen, 2009). It has been argued that the greater facilitation of Islamic finance is critical for Australia to achieve its aspiration of becoming a financial services hub (Australian Financial Centre Forum, 2009). Potential tax reforms are seen as a critical part of this facilitation (Board of Taxation, 2010). However, what are the potential benefits of Islamic finance for Australia? This paper sets out to provide a framework of analysis so the arguments for tax reforms can be considered. The framework considers the dynamic factors of national interest, legal compatibility, equity and neutrality, fiscal, constitutionality, regulatory, political and social. It is only on such a comprehensive framework that due consideration about the future of reforms for Islamic finance can be assessed