Rio Tinto says tax rates near ‘uninvestable’
A top mining executive has warned the industry’s global competitiveness is at stake amid claims it should pay more tax, as a new survey shows the combined tax take on resources companies surged towards 50% in 2012-13.
The tax take on the mining industry – company tax and royalties – jumped to 47.1% of pre-royalty profits in 2012-13, the highest in the six years covered by the survey. It was 43.2% the previous year.
Weakening pillars struggle to support BHP demerger strategy
Some of BHP Billiton’s biggest shareholders believe the timing of the company’s proposed demerger is increasingly bad, but few expect the company to walk away from the proposal on the back of slumping prices for its prime products, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The name given to the proposed demerger, South32, has looked prophetic in recent months as BHP’s Australian shares have moved south by more than 30% since the day the demerger was announced.
BHP Billiton ships iron ore to India amid price crash
A shipment of BHP Billiton iron ore was quietly sent to India this month, with imports of the steel-making ingredient made viable for the giant Asian nation by a dramatic crash in the spot price to five-year lows of below $US70 in a tonne, according to the Australian Financial Review.
It is the not the first ad-hoc shipment BHP has made to India. Buyers have taken advantage of price falls in the past to make Pilbara iron ore competitive with the country’s vast domestic reserves.
