If miners build ports, railways and all the rest, why should they
not be a tax deduction?
Yabby,
It's all those tax deductions which cause the unfairness in our present system. Yes, it has been the norm for god knows how long but that doesn't make it fair. Make a Dollar, pay tax on it, simple. This writing your expenditure off at everyone else's cost is a crappy deal. A wage earner needs transport to go to work every day but can't write anything off. If a big business wants to make big money then let them buy the required machinery, don't keep asking the rest of us to pay for it & then pay tax again on the goods. Big business makes enough money to pay equal tax. No write-offs. Manage, like we do.

Indi, I seriously hope for your sake that was a blonde moment for you, and that you don't seriously think that way.

Thank god the powers to be don't think like that, cause I doubt we woud have invented the wheel. Not so much because we didn't know how, but rather, because we couldn't afford to take the risk if it failed.

R&D is written off at 125%, which is needed to invest the capital that is often placed at risk.

The whole point of this thread is not so much about how much tax miners pa, but whether it is fair for our government to accuse them of no paying their fair share.

Remember, governments set the rules, the miners simply work within them.

Now if fo some reason the rules are wrong, fix the, but don't accuse them of cheating tax.

I for one think they pay their fair share and some, as you should also consider the tax their industry generates, externally if you want to be very open about it.

Put simply, there would be a lot less taxes collected if miners stopped mining.

You may also recall that miners were out of mind, out of sight before the resources boom. Nobody cared about the failed projects back then, which by the way was most, as something like 19 out of 20 failed.

All written off by the way.

So be careful what you wish for.

*No write-offs.*

Individual, that truly was a blonde moment. Let me see, if Coles
pays 80$ for groceries, 15$ for wages, rent etc, sells for 100$
and makes 5$ profit, you want them to pay tax on the full 100$,
no write offs. They would be bankrupt in a couple of days.

Back to the drawing board there, Individual.

Well, that is the kind of thinking that has gotten us this far. You want change to our tax system but you don't want to change the tax system. Of course it sounds outlandish to you because that's all you know. Explore alternatives, start crawling to the outer edge of your comfort zone square. get a sniff of what's out there. There is this outfit in India that made bank loans affordable for the very poor. Any australian Banker would have sceamed blonde moment because they don't know anything else. You say the big companies would not bother, wanna bet ? As long as people have the urge of making more than others they'll comply with whatever Government throws at them. If you want our economy to get out of the bottomless pit we're presently in free fall in then you really should try anything to put the brakes on. Don't just say it won't work just because you fear the unknown might actually work. Flat tax, National Service are the road to recovery. No amount of expert gobbledegook will ever match common sense. Ask anyone who's doing it tough. Don't complain about the big companies making huge profits when you keep insisting not to change the proven failed system.

*Don't complain about the big companies making huge profits*

Well I'm not complaining. I work out if its worthwhile to buy
shares in them, which anyone can do.

I'm all for innovative thinking, thinking outside the square,
but at the end of the day, the numbers have to add up.

If they don't, you don't have the foggiest about running a business.

I suggest you all get a nice strong chair somewhere, to sit on in times of trouble.

The way things are going in Europe, & China, you may need to sit down, & hang on to your hat, in the all to near future.

Iron ore prices are on their way down, China has a huge stock pile of our, & others, coal & their usage is dropping.

All too soon we may have the chance to find out how good the mining boom has been. Rather than excess profit taxes, we just may find mines mothballed, waiting for better times.

It is not that long back that a mate of mine was wondering how long he would have his job in mining. He was looking enviously at a mutual friend working in a mine that supplied a power house, rather than export coal.

Many mines were loosing money on every ton they shipped. Their math said that it was approaching the point when mothballing the show would be cheaper than holding on, waiting for a price increase. Don't be too surprised if we see mothballed mines all over the Bowen Basin, & plenty miners looking for work.