Changes to Australia's Capital Gains Tax Encourage Local VCs.

The Australian Venture Capital Association (AVCA) attributes strong early registrations for its annual conference to proposed changes to Australia's Capital Gains Tax (CGT) - especially the proposed exemption of US pension funds. The CGT has often been cited as a disincentive to foreign investors in Australian IT. The present government has promised to address the situation. "There has never been more interest in the venture capital industry in Australia," reports AVCA executive director Andrew Green. "Strong inquiry is coming from the US, Australia and Asia, with venture capital funds keen to position themselves at center stage to make sure they don't miss out on the booming deal flow." But he admits that Australia remains the supplicant in the international movement of venture funding: "The only hurdle at the moment is not enough capital to go around for all the deals."