Rio Tinto’s 2022 Taxes and Royalties Paid Report has detailed $10.8 billion of global taxes and royalties paid by the major miner during the year.
The amount is the third-highest annual global taxes and royalties paid by Rio Tinto since it published its first annual Taxes Paid report in 2010.
However, it marks a drop on the 2021 amount of $13.3 billion. Rio cited stronger commodity prices in 2021 as the reason for the decrease.
Of the $10.8 billion, $8.5 billion was spent in Australia alone, while $718 million was spent in Canada, $678 million in Chile, $294 million Mongolia, and $135 million in the US.
“At Rio Tinto, we are finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs, and it is important that we do this responsibly and transparently, while contributing to the host countries and communities where we live and work,” Rio Tinto chief financial officer Peter Cunningham said.
“Taxes and royalties play a critical role in the economic and social development of the regions and communities we operate in. As temporary custodians of the land where we operate, we have a responsibility to extract value from the minerals and materials we produce in the safest and most sustainable way.
“This includes providing economic opportunities; safeguarding and promoting health, wellbeing, and human rights; combatting climate change; and being the best possible stewards of the natural resources entrusted to us.”
In the past 10 years, Rio Tinto has paid $74.9 billion in taxes and royalties globally, more than 78 per cent of which was paid in Australia.