Resource Super Profits Tax thingo whatsit

[ltd]

Originally Posted by irish2

The oil and gas industry in Australia makes up roughly a third of all mining operations and already has a 40% super profits tax. Has the tax driven up the price of oil and gas? We are one of the smallest players in the oil and gas industry so why do they continue to mine here when they will make no profit?

Oil and gas industry is exempted from royalties, they pay the resource rent tax. The northern shelf that is cited by the government as a working model does not pay the "super profits tax" at all.
What you are ostensibly suggesting is that foreign ownership is bad and that we all have to tax the hell out of the industry. This is disingenous as if you have superannuation, you too have a stakehold in these mining companies.
As for your assertion that Rio and BHP didn't lose much; are you living on Mars in a cave? They collectively had a tad over 8 billion dollars wiped off them in two days - that's not much to you?
Further, having this tax cut in at anything above the government bond rate of 6% has meant that the banks and superannuation companies will no longer finance either exploration or new projects. This has dire consequences on our country.

Finally, the price of the mined goods go up with increased input costs. They are after all a business and businesses need to make a profit or they go bust. BHP will not take it on the chin and absorb losses; ergo the price of minerals and commodities goes up. If the price of coal goes up so will the price of electricity. Iron ore goes up so will the price of cars - get the picture.

Just one very last point. Company Directors and managers are bound by law not to mislead the market or shareholders lest they find themselves before the supreme court facing a possibility of a custodial sentence.
Politicians on the other hand legally get to lie through parliamentary privilege; who would you trust?