Buying property in Australia will become more attractive for Islamic investors when the country changes its regulations governing Islamic finance.
During the latter half of next year, Australia will equalise Islamic finance's tax treatment and standard forms of banking, Nick Sherry, the country's assistant treasurer has confirmed.
"I think in the second half of next year we will be able to outline specific legislative change," Reuters reported him as saying.
Other nations have made moves to attract Islamic finance investment, namely Hong Kong, with investors from Islamic countries only able to deal in assets that are compliant with sharia law.
Some Islamic investors have been put off investing in Australia because they are usually liable to pay more tax. This is because transactions tend to involve more sales and transactions than conventional ones.
According to Business Islamica Magazine, the Islamic community is Australia's second-largest religious group and has grown significantly from its beginnings in the outskirts of Melbourne in the 1970s.
Posted by Craig Francis