Mining tax take stuck at zero | The Australian
RESOURCE giants will escape Labor’s mining tax for the second quarter in a row in another risk to the federal budget, just as Julia Gillard vows to fund major new commitments before the election.
A recent surge in iron ore prices has not been enough to lift profits beyond the levels needed to trigger the mining tax, despite the government’s forecast of $2 billion in revenue from the controversial impost this year alone. The Australian can reveal that none of the big three miners BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata will make payments when they are due next week, while Fortescue Metals Group confirmed it would not do so either.
