Hello Ubid, The reason that the "average joe blow in suburbia" doesn't appreciate the contribution made to Australia by miners is because the royalties paid by these miners are a pittance and not fairly distributed throught the State.
Take Queensland for instance. In 2007 the Queensland Government collected about $1.45 billion in royalties which is about $365 per year, or a dollar a day, for every man woman and child in the State. This wouldn't buy the Courier Mail let alone feature in one's personal assets.!
Vested interests such as the miners, mining company investors, mining employees and local company towns are totally against the proposed tax as expected but the truth of the matter is we all own these resources and not the benefited few.
If the "average joe blow in suburbia" were as self centered as the above beneficiaries then Rudd and his ACTU advisors would have no trouble enforcing the resource super profit tax. But fortunately Australians are not parochial and self centered and we are likely to settle for a fair compromise which should be something resembling the Petroleum Rental Tax which only differs from the proposed tax in clicking in after 12% net profit instead of 6% and exempts the Australian from the proposed 40% liability failed enterprises. There has been no chatter that this petroleum tax has been snookering investment in our oil and gas resources.Mabe the Chinese dont know about it mate!
Most miners do not pay GST and they are exempt from the fuel excise of 38.3 cents per litre. The fuel excise alone costs the Australian taxpayer $1.7 billion per year. A GST on mining would net the taxpayer at least twice the proposed tax.
For years Australia has been led by the working class value of nothing else matters but jobs. Nowadays, the "average joe blow in suburbia " can see through this capitalist red herring. Our Joe Blow has every right to ask "what's in it for me and my neighbours"? In Queensland that seems to be a $1 a day and expensive tradesmmen who are charging mine wages to fix a leaking tap or wire the flaming shed.
And the irony of the Australian working class jobs focus is that we have to import skilled labour from overseas because we cannot afford to train our own. Cripes!
The average Joe Blow is not looking for welfare; he just wants miners to pay their way rather than being token tax payers or worse still , corporate welfare recipients.. We dont want our population empoverished in fifty years time like those of "Birdshit Island" with nothing left but holes in the ground and international charity. These resources are finite and non-renewable!
Struth Mate, a fair shake of the sauce bottle!.
Moorooka Mick Moorooka
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