Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s proposed ‘super tax’ on miners has certainly got the companies raging. Like rich celebrities in a UK election, they are threatening to leave the country if they are over-taxed. Shares of mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto tumbled after the Australian government proposed a new 40 percent tax on the booming profits of resource companies.
See http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10095.
Rio Tinto ‘likely to shelve projects’ over Australian tax
Tom Albanese said the new tax was akin to a nationalisation of the mining industry. A resources analyst says news that Rio Tinto will review all its new capital projects in Australia in response to the government’s new mining super profits tax comes as no surprise.
See http://australianetworknews.com/stories/201005/2898028.htm?desktop.
Rio Tinto shelves billions in projects
RIO Tinto has raised the stakes in the mining industry’s fight with Australian Primer Minister Kevin Rudd over his new super tax by shelving its $11 billion expansion plans in Western Australia.
See http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/mining-energy/rio-tinto-shelves-billions-in-projects/story-e6frg9df-1225862783233.