MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Australian Senate approves law to tax 30% iron ore and coal mining companies
The law is considered a success for Prime Minister Julia Gillard The Australian Senate has pushed through into law a 30% tax on iron ore and coal mining companies. The tax will raise A$10.6bn (11.2bn dollars) over three years from major companies including BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xtrata.
Strong demand for raw materials from China and India has lead to a resource boom in Australia. The mining tax is aimed at distributing the benefits of that revenue to other segments of the economy. It comes into effect on 1 July.
“This important reform will provide a revenue stream to ensure that businesses in particular that are not in the fast lane of the resources boom get some tax relief,” Treasurer Wayne Swan told Parliament.
The government wants to use the funds, amongst other things, to reduce Australia's company tax rate from 30% to 29%.
The measure passed through the upper house Senate with backing the ruling Labour party and the Greens party, in a success for Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
However, the conservative opposition coalition is against the mining tax, saying it will drive investment overseas and cost thousands of jobs in Australia.
The Australian government originally announced a 40% mining tax in May 2010, but that set-off intense opposition from the mining companies. That opposition was central to the Labour party's decision in June to replace Kevin Rudd as prime minister with Ms Gillard.
She then negotiated a 30% tax with the mining giants. The government also won support for the tax by promising A$6bn in spending on infrastructure such as roads, rail and ports.
It also agreed to raise the amount paid to people's retirement savings to 12% of their salary by 2020, up from the current 9%.
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Mar 20th, 2012 - 05:16 am 0Australia 2012:
”Strong demand for raw materials from China and India has lead to a resource boom in Australia. The mining tax is aimed at distributing the benefits of that revenue to other segments of the economy.
Argentina 2007:
Strong demand for agricultural products from China and India has lead to a resource boom in Argentina. The Agricultural tax is aimed at distributing the benefits of that revenue to other segments of the economy.
Smart people, those Aussies............
they sure are Think! and I was thinking along the same lines you were when you drew that comparison.
Mar 20th, 2012 - 07:43 am 0Argentina attempted something similar with the Resolución 125 but to no avail thanks to that idiot of Cobos (and, granted, the Gov't poor undertaking of informing about it and negotiating it).
@1,2 If they have the same inputs then it's weird that the outputs are so different. Australia is a modern democracy, developed with a vibrant market economy and a great standard of living. Argentina is a corrupt mafia-run hell hole where $billions goes missing, democracy is bought wholesale and the standard of living is absolutely terrible.
Mar 20th, 2012 - 12:00 pm 0Something to do with the fact you speak italiano-spanish, whereas Australians speak english.
End of Story.
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