The Australian government has defended its proposed 30 percent mining tax and stated that it will go ahead with its tax plan as agreed with the mining industry - in response to the threat made by Andrew Forrest, outgoing CEO of Australia's third-largest iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group, to take the tax issue to the High Court.
Australian Federal Resources Minister Martin Ferguson said that they did not design the mining tax to suit the personal needs of mining bosses but to suit the needs of the community.
On the other hand, opposition resources spokesman Ian Macfarlane said that the proposed tax would add to investment uncertainty, triggered by the carbon tax and other industry tax changes.
As SteelOrbis previously reported, Fortescue CEO Forrest had criticized the Australian government for not looking out for the interests of home-grown companies.
The new mining tax legislation, due to take effect in July next year is expected to raise an estimated A$7.7 billion ($8.1 billion) in revenue in its first two years. It is a revised version of the first draft proposing a 40 percent tax.