FED:Mining firms spend $20m to fight tax

AAP General News (Australia)
02-01-2011
FED:Mining firms spend $20m to fight tax

By Paul Osborne, AAP Senior Political Writer

CANBERRA, Feb 1 AAP - Mining companies spent more than $20 million to sink a tax on
profits, and Kevin Rudd's Labor leadership.

New figures released by the electoral commission show the Minerals Council of Australia
spent $17 million, BHP Billiton more than $4 million and Rio Tinto more than $537,000
in their battle against the Rudd government's resource super profits tax.

The government wanted to impose a 40 per cent tax on the profits of all miners.

But Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who ousted Mr Rudd as the tax debate entered a stalemate,
negotiated with the biggest companies for a 30 per cent mineral resources rent tax applying
to coal and iron ore only.

However some miners still refuse to accept the tax.

Infrastructure Minister Anthony Albanese said the miners had waged a misleading campaign.

"We know in the lead-up to the last election there was a considerable amount of advertising
done against the government, much of it very misleading," he told reporters in Canberra
on Tuesday.

The Australian Electoral Commission figures also showed the Liberal Party continued
to benefit from large donations from tobacco companies and the hotels and gaming industry
spent big on both major parties.

But trade unions remained Labor's key financial backers.

The Australian Workers Union and the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association
each gave $200,000 to the ALP's federal branch, which received $7.75 million in total
over the 2009/10 financial year.

Billionaire mining magnate Clive Palmer's Mineralogy Pty Ltd was the largest individual
donor to the federal Liberals, contributing $500,000 out of a total $6.3 million.

Across all states the Liberals received $41.22 million, compared with Labor's $36.22 million.

Tobacco companies Philip Morris and British American Tobacco gave donations totalling
just over $300,000 to the Liberal and National parties, while Labor and the Greens have
banned such donations.

NAB and ANZ bank donated $100,000 each to Labor and the Liberals.

The nation's 60 political parties received $89.5 million over the financial year -
down from $98 million the previous year.

AAP pjo/rl/msk

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