PM Gillard insists MRRT must take effect on its present design
The proposed mining tax will successfully pass the parliamentary scrutiny and keep its present form, according to Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who believes that firm backings from independent MPs will seal the measures' good fortunes.
Ms Gillard said on Thursday that the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) will be passed as it is as she told the Australian Mining that "'I'll be delivering the minerals resource rent tax I shaped in my early days as Prime Minister."
At the same time, the prime minister downplayed any need for revising the tax proposal in light of the suggestions aired by Australian Green party leader Bob Brown on Wednesday that the planned must be adjusted to encourage more local ownership of mining operations in the country.
Brown said that a research sponsored by the Greens revealed that foreign entities maintain 83 percent ownership of Australian mines, which he said automatically sends out some $50 million of earnings under the MRRT.
However, Ms Gillard insisted that the tax measures must retain its current form and she expressed confidence that it will take effect without revisions due to the support committed by a number of key independent lawmakers.
That claim though was not confirmed by Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott and Andrew Wilkie, all regarded as the Australian Parliament's major independent MPs, who told the Australian Mining that they have yet to make their mind on the mining tax issue.
The Greens wants to increase the MRRT coverage and include gold and uranium mining in the measures while a number of miners being led by Fortescue Mining Group big boss Andrew Forrest called on the government to ensure that the proposed tax will not favor the operations of the big three mining players: BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Xstrata.
Such concerns were also voiced put by the independent MPs who declared that their support on the tax will depend on how the government will address the valid concerns and grievances of smaller firms in the mining industry.
In a statement, the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies called on Ms Gillard to consider the 'Scrutiny of New Taxes' issued by Sen. Mathias Cormann, which concluded that "the MRRT is a bad policy and discriminates against emerging iron ore and coal miners."
The group said that Australia will be served well once the Gillard administration decides to revisit the mining tax proposal and scrap it altogether.