Our mining industries work on a very fine edge of competitive advantage. Brazil is champing at the bit to get into, and take over our markets in Asia. They have the goods and the ability. We're hanging in there on a very tight margin. Same with cattle. A large new tax on the miners would just about see it finished, as we know it.
Some go on about "massive" profits. If I had the multi-billions of investment dollars out there on the line I'd want a return - a substantial one! So do the investors. That money doesn't just go into some despotic mine owner's pocket as many seem to think.
Miners at least produce something useful. Most people produce something worthwhile, so why not bash the most worthless leeches in any society; those who produce nothing; those for whom greed is the goal in itself - lawyers!
^ If somebody found a 1kg diamond in my backyard I'd want more than 5% (or is it 4%?)
^^^^^
Exactly what the WA Government did in the last State Budget - and didn't the Feds give that a "warm" reception.
@Panda... Unfortunately not. The state owns the resources. If the state grants a tenement over your property, the holder of that tenement has the right to exploit the resources. The government gets its royalty.
The rates vary for each commodity, and even different classes of commodity. You may recall recently the WA government removed the royalty discount for Pilbara fines (iron ore)... this did 2 things, it increased the royalty to something like 8% (from just under 6%), and it blew a $2B hole in the federal labs budget... and then there were tears from the children in Canberra.
@SoG, ummm, it's a percentage... it increases as well!
BHP Billiton has made an announcement today which will get those with an eye on the green going, licking their lips, wondering what they could spend it on!
We must also remember that it was the mining industry that proposed moving to a profits-based tax, not a product-based tax. Unfortunately, Kev and Ken got this so bady wrong by saying "we're gunna slug the hell out of you, and ain't nothing you can do about it". As it turned out, the mining companies had bigger muscles, and deeper pockets, and the RSPT went the way of the dinosaur, and kev and ken, as the case was...
There is a lot to be said for stakeholder consultation.
Enter mining tax mk II (MRRT), and this time the labs decided consultation is a good idea... Enter Don Argus, the former head of BHP Billiton. Unfortunately for the labs, they cocked this up as well, and the MRRT ended up biased towards the major miners, and for this reason, they will struggle with getting it in as well...
Should we all benefit from resources wealth - hell yeah... we do already! And clearly there is scope to increase those benefits... Engage the stakeholders, and ask them nicely... I find it works much better... Push me, and I will resist
From Mining News... Something more to add to the success list of the labs...
The report is exactly what it says it is... A survey of 21 major coal and iron ore mines with combined annual revenues from minerals production in Australia in excess of $1B, has shown that the tax percentage paid in 2009-10 was 42.2%.
So, these nasty "big corporations (that) have turned "tax reduction" into an art form", still had to pay 42.2% tax...
Believe what you like. It's OK, I believe in leprechauns. However, I think it unlikely that an independent auditor such as Deloitte will be any less independent then (say) treasury or Ross Garnaut and his climate change review...
"After all who's going to bite the hand that feeds them and produce a report that doesn't put the right slant on the numbers ????" --> probably not treasury and the climate change review
^^^ Of course it is hot air... The hot air is then taken to Canberra, a hot air budget is generated, and it is used liberally and excessively on projects such as a CEF or NBN or TLA (three letter acronyms) or OFA (errr, other fudging acronyms)...
I spose it comes as no surprise to anyone here but I'd nationalise the mining sector. Cufk off the multinationals, keep the profits for the citizens. ........... Bravo Hugo Chavez!! Where's my frikken soap box when I want it!!!
