The Queensland Resources Council (QRC) is the latest body to slam proposed thermal coal export taxes.
The Federal Government announced the proposed taxes last week in a move the NSW Minerals Council called a harmful broken election promise.
Now, QRC has called for cool heads and common sense to prevail over politics.
“Introducing a new mining tax on the resources sector, on top of the billions in taxes and charges coal and gas companies already pay to state and federal governments, will kill off investor interest in future resources projects in Australia, it’s as simple as that,” QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said.
“The resources sector is already Australia’s highest company taxpayer by far, and on top of that companies pay substantial royalties, taxes and charges to state governments.
“Companies will simply walk away from investing in Australia if government taxes keep going up.”
Macfarlane advised the Victorian and New South Wales governments to “take a leaf out of Queensland’s book” and develop their own gas fields to meet the growing needs of their populations in an effort to reduce power prices.
“Queensland had the foresight to develop its coal seam gas fields 20-plus years ago, which involved local and international companies investing billions of dollars into expanding the gas industry, to the enormous benefit of Australians living and working on the east coast now,” he said.
Macfarlane said introducing a new energy tax would be the last straw for international investors and cripple any chance of Australia becoming the ‘energy superpower’ it has the potential to be.
He said that if the proposed tax goes ahead, investors would be likely to direct their capital into projects in other countries instead of Australia.
“Companies need stable government policy settings so they can make responsible, long-term decisions on behalf of investors,” Macfarlane said.
“Moving the goal posts once a project is already financed and off the ground is poor form and poor practice, and a clear disincentive to future investment.
“Introducing new taxes is not an issue the resources sector will take lying down, and we will fight it every step of the way.”