actu, EMC, Essential Media, Essential Report, GDP, mining, mining companies, mining industry, Mining tax, peter lewis, Resource Rent Tax, The Drum
First published on The Drum: 22/02/2011
If there is any silver lining from the mining industry’s 20,800 per cent return on investment for knocking over the Rudd Government’s Resource Rent Tax, it’s that the punters are beginning to wise up.
As interest groups around the nation hone their scare campaigns in expectation of a price on carbon, this week’s Essential Report suggests the mining industry has dealt themselves out of any credible role in the debate.
With record profits the size of many sovereign nation’s GDPs and ongoing plans to extract even more of the national wealth, a majority of the public say they support forcing the mining industry to pay a greater share of their profits in tax.
Q: Would you approve or disapprove of higher taxes on the profits of large mining companies?
| Total | Vote Labor |
Vote Lib/Nat |
Vote Greens |
|
| Total approve | 56% | 75% | 36% | 83% |
| Total disapprove | 27% | 13% | 49% | 6% |
| Strongly approve | 21% | 32% | 6% | 46% |
| Approve | 35% | 43% | 30% | 37% |
| Disapprove | 20% | 11% | 35% | 4% |
| Strongly disapprove | 7% | 2% | 14% | 2% |
| Don’t know | 17% | 13% | 15% | 11% |