AIMA welcomes Open Europe survey findings
21 September 2009
Among the findings recently produced by The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA)’s membership is the discovery that hedge fund and private equity industries contribute €9bn (£7.9bn) in tax revenues to European Union governments.
AIMA has welcomed the findings of a survey of its members as well as those of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association and by independent think-tank Open Europe.
Among the findings is the discovery that the hedge fund and private equity industries contribute €9bn (£7.9bn) in tax revenues to European Union governments. Open Europe said that the €9bn tax contribution would be enough to fund the EU's entire overseas aid budget for 12 years. According to Open Europe, the tax contribution also matches the value of the EU's Cohesion and Aid Programmes for Poland and is just short of the subsidy that France receives each year under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy.
The survey also found that:
· UK hedge fund and private equity industries contribute about €6.1bn (£5.3bn) in tax revenues to HMRC. Open Europe said this would be enough to pay for more than 200,000 nurses, 45,000 hospital consultants or 165,000 teachers.
· The European Commission's Alternative Investment Fund Managers’ Directive would, if implemented in its current form, cost hedge fund and private equity industries in the EU between €1.3bn and €1.9bn (£1.2bn and £1.6bn) in its first year. The annual recurring cost would be between €689m and €985m (£597m and £853m). Respondents said their total compliance costs would, on average, increase by almost one third.
· Although the AIFM directive is designed to provide better protection for investors, just two per cent of alternative investment fund managers' clients favour it, while 46 per cent oppose it.
· There is evidence that the draft directive is already hampering the growth of the industry, with eight per cent of respondents revealing that they had delayed a particular fund launch because of the proposal.
Andrew Baker, AIMA's chief executive, said: "We were delighted to work with Open Europe on their survey of alternative investment fund managers in Europe. Their findings prove that our industry makes a strong and tangible contribution to the economies of Europe."
© AIMA - Alternative Investment Management Association
