No Credit for Future Mining Royalty Rises, Henry Says
Australia’s planned 30 percent levy on iron ore and coal profits won’t give producers such as BHP Billiton Ltd. credit for future state royalty tax increases, Treasury Secretary Ken Henry said..
The Minerals Resource Rent Tax won’t compensate BHP, Rio Tinto Group and Xstrata Plc and other companies for future increases in levies that state governments charge them for extracting resources, Henry told a Senate committee in Canberra.
“It is my understanding there would be no credit provided under the MRRT for future increases,” he said.
Companies are in dispute with the government about how royalties would be credited under the tax, which is forecast to raise A$7.4 billion ($7.3 billion) in its first two years from 2012. The government is scheduled to receive a report by the end of 2010 from a committee chaired by former BHP chairman Don Argus on the design of the tax.
To contact the reporter on this story: Gemma Daley in Canberra at gdaley@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bill Austin at billaustin@bloomberg.net
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