12-July-2010
Portfolio Media Releases, The Economy
Wayne Swan must today come out of hiding and explain himself in response to serious new doubts over his claims that Labor’s new mining tax will raise $10.5 billion in revenue over the Budget forward estimates.
It has been reported today that the Chief Financial Officer of BHP told a Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst that the new tax will have “very little impact” on the company’s revenues for “the first 25 years”.
Shadow Minister for Finance Andrew Robb said this follows revelations that on-shore coal seam gas projects will pay next to no additional tax as a result of Wayne Swan and Julia Gillard’s monumental back down.
“If the major companies are expecting to pay next to no additional tax on their existing projects, how on earth does Wayne Swan expect this tax to raise $10.5 billion in revenue over the forward estimates?” Mr Robb asked.
“This explains why the three negotiating companies have been sworn to silence about the revenue estimates, and why the government refuses to release any figures.
“This reeks of a cover up and Wayne Swan needs to come out and explain how he plans to make $10.5 billion out of nothing and he needs to release the details and assumptions behind his dubious claims.
“Wayne Swan has not been sighted for more than a week, and now we know why. He needs to come out of his witness protection program and explain his numbers, because they are not believable and look dodgier by the day.
“Under Labor’s original super profits tax, around $7 billion of the forecasted annual $9 billion tax take would have come from BHP and Rio through the retrospective taxing of existing projects.
“We know Labor has rolled over on this aspect of the tax and with resources companies themselves expecting to pay very little extra tax on their existing projects, Wayne Swan’s budget is now in tatters and needs to be re-done,” Mr Robb said.
Media Contact: Cameron Hill on 0408 239 521