With only days left before the worlds largest tax on carbon, and the mining tax are due to be implemented, hands up who thinks this government can implement both, without stuffing them up.

Sorry, No surprises but I vote NO!

Rehctub, if you think our government can’t proceed with the carbon and mining taxes without stuffing them up, then you must think they haven’t stuffed them up yet!

I thought you were of the very vocal camp that thinks that the very introduction of these things is an enormous stuff-up by our government.

If our government made no attempt to deal with climate change and peak oil or to try and make our mineral wealth work better for all of us, they’d be stuffing up enormously.

It is those who oppose these efforts who are really stuffing up here.

Ludwig, my main concern with the carbon tax is that it is simplyy a licence to pollute.

As for the mining tax, it's simply unfair on miners, as they already pay company tax and, indirectly, they generate an enormous amount of taxes, paid by the companies that feed off or support mining and, these are taxes that simply would not be generated if not for mining.

Of cause, supporters of the tax will find some reason to disagree, as they will simply say these people/companies would find work elsewhere. Yea right!

If you wish to generate more wealth for all, then you simply change the way royalties are imposed, or, you increase royalties.

An increase in royalty is in fact an increase in the cost of producing minerals and can be easier 'passed on', as opposed to a tax, that is unable to be passed on as it is a tax on profits, not an increase in production costs.

A royalty is simply the 'buy price' for minerals, just like a butcher buying a cow. If the price of beef increases, this can be passed on, whereas if the butchers tax goes up by say 20%, this can't be passed on, as it not an increase on the cost of goods.

That's the main difference.

As for sharing wealth, As I have said before, if the likes of Victoria and Sydney want a share of our wealth,( minerals), then we should also have a share of theirs, pay roll tax, stamp duty etc.

If you wish to share state taxes, then ALL STATE TAXES should be pooled and divided up as per population. Not just mining wealth, as is what the MRRT is about.

Nobody can Tell me what is unfair about that?

I suspect they agree, but just don't want to admit it. The old, what's yours is ours, but what's mine is my own.

Continued.

Ludwig, continued

On the other hand, I am confident that the miners would be happy to pay the MRRT, in return for the government funding ALL FUTURE EXPLORATION costs.

The government simply wants to have their cake and eat it.

What I can tell you is that if this governments actions of introducing both these taxes costs one single job, it will be one too many and, they are gambling with the one industry that has growth.

As I have said before, responsible gamblers only gamble with what they can afford to loose. Even the government tells us that.

Do you think we can afford to loose or effect mining?

Now given this governments record of IMPLIMENTATION (not the passing of legislation), which is what they crow about, do you think they can implement both these taxes and not stuff them up?

<< Ludwig, my main concern with the carbon tax is that it is simply a licence to pollute. >>

Agreed, rehctub. It will need to be progressively strengthened if it is to have any real effect.

Yes I think our government will stuff up on it, because they won’t strengthen it. They are getting such a hard time now that they’ll be very hard-pressed to increase it. But really, the fault here lies with all those that oppose it, not so much with the government itself.

Thanks for outlining the differences between the mining tax and royalties. But the end effect is pretty much the same in terms of both increased costs for miners and a better return to the Australian community, isn’t it. And I presume that raising royalties would have been harder to achieve, otherwise our government would have done that instead, yes?

<< If you wish to share state taxes, then ALL STATE TAXES should be pooled and divided up as per population. Not just mining wealth, as is what the MRRT is about.

Yes ideally all tax revenue should be pooled and much more equally shared. But the main purpose of the MRRT is not to better distribute taxes; it is to increase the value of our mineral wealth for ordinary Australians, is it not?

continued

<< … if this governments actions of introducing both these taxes costs one single job, it will be one too many … >>

Now I have to strongly disagree. We can’t be held to ransom by the fear that actions done for the good of the majority might result in some job losses.

Various things affect jobs in the mining sector. Jobs come and go all the time.

And the MRRT will presumably result in more activity conducted for the good of the community far away from the mining sector, which will create jobs.

<< Do you think we can afford to loose or effect mining? >>

The MRRT, which really is just a very small change in the balance of wealth returned to the general community rather than the mining companies, won’t cause us to lose mining nor negatively affect it to any significant extent.

I’d also say that mining activity needs to be reined in a bit. We’ve surely got enough of it happening at the moment. Let’s slow it down, spread out the boom times a bit and hold on to some of our primary resources for a longer period.