Australian Senate approves abolition of coal and iron ore mining taxes

On September 2, the Australian Senate voted to abolish the controversial 30% of the mining tax.

At present, the abolition of the draft mining tax is awaiting approval from the House of Representatives and is expected to be passed.

This tax on coal and iron ore mining profits was raised by the former Labour government in 2012 and is called the Mineral Resources Rent Tax.

The tax suffered widespread opposition including Xstrata (now Glencore Xstrata) and Australian iron ore giant Fortescue Metals Group. Mining companies claim that the mining tax will damage corporate profits, which is detrimental to the company’s future investment in Australian mining.

Reuters reported that the mining company welcomed the abolition of the tax, saying it was necessary for cooling the global metal and coal market.

The abolition of the mining tax agreement was negotiated between the Senate and PalmerUnitedParty, an Australian wealthy, congressman, mining and real estate mogul Clive Palmer’s party. This party is an important check and balance in the Senate.

In order to facilitate the agreement, the Palmer United Party agreed to make some concessions. For example, the government’s contribution to the country’s pension plan is frozen, and a bonus program for school-aged children continues.

Clive Palmer was the protagonist of Afro-China's remarks on ABC's broadcast on August 19. Wall Street news mentioned that at the time, he accused China of attempting to seize Australia’s ports to steal natural resources and burst out of the program.

There is a legal dispute between Palmer and CITIC Pacific. Citic Pacific said that Palmer used funds from the joint account to fund his political activities. Palmer denies the allegations of CITIC and calls them "Chinese mongrel dogs."