WTF?

According to the Australia Institute:

Since 1996 Norway has been taxing the profits of its oil and gas sector at 78%.

Australia meanwhile has a petroleum tax (PRRT) but it is much less effective. The PRRT, unlike Norway’s Special Tax, is deductible from corporate tax, and is calculated when it satisfies the definition of a “marketable petroleum commodity”. This means that the PRRT calculation for LNG can be applied before the major value-adding liquefaction process and thus reduces the amount that is considered taxable compared to Norway.

Norway’s Government Pension Fund Act also stipulates that the Government’s entire net cash flow from the petroleum industry shall be transferred to the Fund. The first transfer was made in 1996 and the fund is now worth A$1.9 trillion. This is around $350,000 for each of Norway’s 5.4 million citizens or $1.4 million for a family of four.

In stark contrast, Australia’s oil and gas industry received billions of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded subsidies and the huge surge in revenue to the industry has not resulted in a similar jump in tax revenue.

If foreign entities want access to Australia's resources they will pay the price.

A stable and developed first world country will always be preferred for resource acquisition even at 78% taxation.

Dear WTF,

Couldn't agree more.

Yet the usual suspects from here would hate the idea.

Hasbeen: "God you lefties are sick. If you don't like multinationals doing the mining & extracting the oil & gas, why the hell don't you do it?"
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=9457&page=0#318989

Left whingers always like more taxes to balance their wasteful spending.

Norway, doorway. Who cares! We've got enough trouble in our own country without bothering with these regular overseas bulletins.

ttbn says: "Who cares?"

Well clearly I care.

As the Australia institute states "In stark contrast, Australia’s oil and gas industry received billions of dollars worth of taxpayer-funded subsidies and the huge surge in revenue to the industry has not resulted in a similar jump in tax revenue."

I care that billions of tax dollars in subsidies have gone to Australia’s oil and gas industry for little result.

Perhaps we could learn from overseas successes.

There are billions of taxpayer dollars going to unreliable wind and solar gadgets. Despite those subsidies, the price of electricity is getting higher. Australians are paying through the nose twice - as taxpayers and as consumers.

I wonder if these breathless reports about foreign goings on are from someone who knows squat about Australia, and has never even been here. It wouldn't be the first time we have had a foreign provocateur stirring the possum.

Of course, the Australian political class isn't interested in what goes on overseas, because they are bungling along, making the same mistakes that have already been made in other countries, ignoring the evidence of what has occurred when other stupid politicians have done the very same things they, the Australian nitwits, are doing now.