Gillard's mining tax scheme in the shadow of Rudd's

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard's controversial mining tax will reap over a ten-year period 60 billion Australian dollars (59.8 billion U.S. dollars) less than former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Resources Super Profits Tax (RSPT) that it replaced, according to figures released by the Treasury on Tuesday.
The documents went public as the world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton announced on Wednesday it basked in a 72 percent jump in its first-half net profit to almost 10.6 billion Australian dollars (10.57 billion U.S. dollars).
Figures showed the original RSPT as proposed by the then Prime Minister Rudd would have made 99 billion Australian dollars (98.7 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue between 2012-13 and 2020-21, while the revised Mineral Resource Rent Tax (MRRT) by Gillard government is forecast to earn 38.5 billion Australian dollars (38. 47 billion U.S. dollars) over the same period.
The original resources super profits tax created a massive political storm, attracting a multi-million dollar propaganda campaign on the part of the cashed up resources sector and ultimately contributing to the downfall of the Rudd government.
The tax that is widely believed to have cost Kevin Rudd control of the labor party and his Prime Ministership, is now looking far more effective as a revenue source according to new figures, released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) laws.
The MRRT, negotiated by Gillard as her first act as Prime Minister will collect more tax in its first year than the RSPT, but from then on, Treasury papers revealed that the revenue will then steeply decline. In 2017-18 the MRRT is forecast to harvest only 3 billion Australian dollars (2.99 billion U.S. dollars) when at the same time, the RSPT would have collected 14.5 billion Australian dollars (14.45 billion U.S. dollars).
The massive drop in revenue not only adds to the weight of criticism since the revamped tax was presented to the mining industry, but also raises doubts that the tax can fund higher superannuation tax concessions and the promised infrastructure spending.
The revised tax scheme reached last July by Gillard government and big mining giants including BHP Billition, Rio Tinto and Xstrata has courted controversy from day one. Some have argued that such a tax would stifle growth, effectively hobbling the pillar of national economic growth, while others have denounced it as a compromise catering to the need of big players, while neglecting the rights of smaller ones.
Those claims have been repeatedly denied by officials.
A spokesman for the Treasurer Wayne Swan said, although the revised tax generates "different revenue", it still generates substantial revenue and is an important part of the government's strategy to maximize the benefits flowing from mining boom by increasing national savings, cutting the company tax rate, and investing in new infrastructure.
Noting BHP Billtion's 72 percent jump in first-half net profit, Swan told reporters on Wednesday that showed exactly why Australia needed a mining tax on resource profits. He said the result reflected the strength of the sector and its ability to pay the revised Minerals Resource Rent Tax. "That's why we fought really hard for a resource rent tax," Swan told The Australian.
Source:Xinhua