*Time to pay up or phuck off.*

Yes Custard, we know that if you had any say, you would soon turn
the place into a banana republic, using banana republic tactics.
That is exactly why they are poor and we are not.

As it stands, the miners have far more integrity, then either
you or our present Govt.

I remind you that Martin Ferguson, as well as previous Govts,
have pleaded and begged miners to invest in Australia, rather then
elsewhere. Now that 30 years of investment, often with extremely
crappy returns, is finally paying off for them, you are envious
and want to plunder them. Think again.

Mining companies have long standing agreements about leases and
they have them with the States. Only what is offshore, comes
under Commonwealth law. So keep sucking on your lemon :)

Rio pays its Pilbara train drivers around 200k$ per year. They
really don't need a union twit to stick his nose in and try and
make himself important to justify even being there.

I have seen no mining company say that its going to stop mining.
Given that they have already spent their money, they will keep
mining. Its new and large developments that will slow right now
and that is where the jobs are, including for local building and
engineering firms. I certainly can't see BHP spending 20 billion
$ on expaning Olympic Dam now. South Austrlian workers will be the
big losers. So be it, if that is the way it has to go.

I'm with custard on this. The hysteria whipped up by the mining industry on this is worthy of a Hollywood Oscar.

The fact is the share prices continue to rise even members of the Opposition are out there purchasing mining shares despite rhetoric about the sky falling in and doom and gloom.

We are talking super profits on mineral wealth, the minerals do not belong to the miners they only hold the rights to mine. We could ask more for the primary product in line with falls and rise in metal prices or we can just tax the Super profits. Taxing the profits is fairer for the miners and less risk on investment. There is no risk to investment from a tax, despite the drama played out by XStrata. If there are minerals to be mined and a profit to be made, someone else will be along to mine them.

What is more concerning is that people are actually falling for these scare mongering tactics.

Thinker 2>>It is a little absurd, like a favourite 3 to 1 horse that wins every race that your using in your example.
No risk punting. What a deal Miners have already, if thats what they have.!

Favorites get beaten every other day. I stand on my comment that if a punter had to part with almost 40% of his winnings, he may well re-think his bet.

As for miner having it easy. Yes, they do now, but who paid to find the deposits. They did, and now, and only now, the government wants a larger share.

pelican
The reason mining shares are being 'snapped up' is simply because not only is this tax going to be yet another failed project of Krud and his crusaders, but Krud has an awfull smell about him at present and it is most likely he will add yet another trophy to his already full 'failed trophy case', that being for the worst PM on record.

At least he has an extreemly wealth wife, so he has nothing to worry about, but what about the rest of us whos money he has pissed away in record time.

Even some of the experts now agree that for the government to want a larger slice of mining, they must also share some of the risk. Some are suggesting half the exploration costs.

It simply reafirms my thoughts that if you want to share the profits, you must also share the risks.

After all, that's what buying mining shares is all about and you can become involved with as little as $1000.

Now just think, if the gov had have invested in the major mining companies, instead of wasting billions, we would be collecting a larger share, ligitimately. Nothing wrong with that hey!

*The hysteria whipped up by the mining industry on this is worthy of a Hollywood Oscar.*

Hehe Pelican, yet if the Govt slapped a 58% tax on your wages,
you would be howling in the streets! But as you have never bothered
to invest a cent of your hard earned savings into developing our
mining industry, you want money for nothing here.

If I was earning multiple billions per year and minimizing tax, I'd expect the government to do so. After all, the marginal tax rate is already 46.5% (with medicare) if you are over, what? $150K?

The Government can tell the miners to go jump, they can't, their shareholders will not cop it. The one good thing the Rudd Government could do prior to leaving would be to implement it. I guarantee, once it is being used to pay for Health, the Coalition won't roll it back.

As for the miners, they can choose to stay or go... Their call (as it always is). If they go, they lose their investment and someone else will snap it up. Either way, we win...

Yabby you are scraping the bottom of the barrell here with comments like "slapped a 58% tax on your wages, you would be howling in the streets".

I would be if it were on my wages as a wage earner under $100K but we are talking about a tax on profits. There have been times in my life where I have paid higher than average taxes and I would expect to as a high income earner.

Emotive comments don't help here and are just further indication of the lack of logic and commonsense on this issue.