Thursday, October 07,
Australia’s Government said it was committed to its planned resource tax and would not broaden it to include small miners.
A committee led by Resources Minister Martin Ferguson and former BHP Billiton Chairman Don Argus will hold the first talks on details of the 30% tax with Iron ore, oil and gas producers in the mining state of Western Australia today.
The 30% tax, set to come in from 2012, aims to raise about A$10.5 billion USD 10.2 billion in its first two years and is due to be imposed on about 320 Iron ore and Coal projects with profits of A$50 million a year or more.
Global miners BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Rio Tinto were involved in designing the new tax, but smaller miners such as Fortescue Metals Group remain angry about the tax plan and have called for changes.
The Government says the mining profits tax is designed to make sure Australians get a fair return for the surging value of Australia’s resources, due to increased demand from China.
Source: Money Control
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