Towards a fairer mining tax

The Australian Greens' efforts to secure a fairer mining tax have so far resulted in another $140 million for the public purse, to offset the $100 million that MP Andrew Wilkie arranged with the Gillard government to hand back to mining companies, Greens Leader Bob Brown said today.

"The Greens want a fairer mining tax and our focus, all the way down the line, has been on improving the mining tax. There is further work to be done when the bill reaches the Senate and, remember, government legislation covering the separate tax break for big companies is yet to be introduced to Parliament," Senator Brown said.

"We'll be taking a look at the ‘magic pudding' effect of the government's open-cheque-book approach to rebating mining royalties paid to state governments as well as ensuring the taxation arrangements for increasing superannuation from 9 to 12% don't penalise lower and middle-income earners."

"We'll also be working hard to ensure that tax breaks go to small businesses - which make a lot less than the $75 million a year profit threshold set for ‘small' miners."

"Small business should be supported by amending the Government's mining tax package so that instead of big businesses having their corporate tax rate cut from 30 to 29%, small businesses would get a tax cut to 25%. This would be a revenue saver as well as providing a much bigger break for smaller companies."

"We welcome the one-year deferral of the reduction of interest withholding tax, largely paid by foreign financial institutions - thereby putting $70 million back into the public purse in 2013-14 and another $70 million in 2014-15, according to government figures," Senator Brown said.