Crank up mining royalties on Iron ore, page-57

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moorookamick

22,108 Posts.

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22/03/20

18:50

Post #: 43633463
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Originally posted by moorookamick: ↑

Have a Captain Cook at Saudi Arabia:

Population : 34.8 million

Tax:
Personal: ...Nil
Corporate : 5%
Capital gains: 2.5% on assets only
VAT:.......... 5%

(source Wikipedia)

How can they afford this, you may ask?
Answer: they have owned their resources since 1973-74

How:
The House of Saud nationalised all their oil & gas resources in 1973 which up to then were owned by western energy companies.
The timing was very important.
-The Cold War was at its height with Vietnam War being lost by the USA
-Russia was offering considerable support to the ME
-The USA was severely in deby\t and Nixon removed the greenback from the Gold Standard because DeGaulle asked for a trade settlement in Gold
rather than in Greenbacks which the USA was liberally printing to pay for the Vietnam war
-Nixon was secretely negotiating the China deal.
-Saudia Arabia quite correctly assumed that the US would not interfere because it was upto its neck in Vietnam (unlike Venzeuela)
This was an amazing coup of which its dividend to the Saudi nationals is reflected by the incredably low tax rates above; in other words an equitable sharing of that nation's resources.

And what did Australia do in the 1970s?
We voted -in Whitlam with the mandate of "buying back the farm"
-We were dependant then (as now) in borrowing overseas for both Government & Banking needs
-Uncle Sam snookered the then Government's access to overseas Bonds.
-Whitlam ran out of money, could not "buy back the farm" and ended with Fraser blocking Supply in the Senate & the Sacking.

IMO, this was the time to "buy back the farm" but unfortunately it is beyond us to do so now without draconian Governmental measures.
Perhaps as the US/China economic war develops into a cold war, we may too be afforded a "Saudi Window" to own our resources again!

The question do we have the nouce to do it?

Indonesia is doing it upfront by its resource contracts of Work which currently requires foreign companies to divest at least 51% of the project within 10years to an Indonesian national entity and in the interim to give select minerals a secondary processing onshore in Indonesia.
Not bad for a 3rd wiorld country that still has 5% economic growth...eh?

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PS rather than look at the worst case scenario (Eg: Venzeuela) lets loook at the best (Saudi Arabia) ....lets be glass half full...eh?
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