Hi all, In the end, the personalities involved are unimportant. The tax, as constituted, should be judged on what its effects will be. If the effects are, 1.reduction in mining activity 2.in the end, a reduction in the total tax take, then it is bad policy.
Nobody likes paying tax, but a tax's structure, ideally, should be set up in such a way that it doesn't interfere with the activity to the point where the reponse to the tax eventually reduces the total tax receipts.
Exceptions to this, are when your main aim is to reduce the activity, not increase tax. ie in theory tobacco taxes. If ideologically, a reduction in mining activity is an end in itself, this tax makes perfect sense. Any other motivation, it is flawed.
