Four Barrick Gold employees detained in Mali
Employees of the Loulo-Gounkoto mine were detained amid the government's push for higher mining taxes.
Western Australia Labor senator Mark Bishop says the government should revise the Mineral Resources Rent Tax (MRRT) to protect small miners with annual profits below A$75 million.
He claims that the current tax hurts small miners indirectly, as they pay compliance costs having to “file regular, arduous, and needless information to the Tax Office.”
In a report for a government inquiry on the tax, Bishop wrote that “it would appear that the elements of the MRRT designed to lessen the burden for smaller miners are not working as intended.”
“It is poor public policy to apply a layer of bureaucratic compliance when the relevant companies will never face a tax liability.”
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Sources: Sydney Morning Herald; Australian Mining
