According to an official budget document, by July 2013 the government of Western Australia plans to raise the iron ore tax rate from the current level of 5.625 percent to 7.5 percent.
The document also indicated that the Australian federal government will levy a mining tax as high as 30 percent on domestic iron ore miners in 2013.
Western Australia is the principal mineral resource base in Australia. During the April-October 2010 period, total investment in mining projects in the state reached AU$132.9 billion.