One of the attached articles contained the following...

One of the attached articles contained the following passage:

"Australia applies two uplift rates: the long-term bond rate plus 5% (for general losses), and the long-term bond rate plus 15% (for exploration losses).So much can the long-term bond rate plus 15% grow over time that Callaghan found it allowed exploration deductions to almost double every four years, which means that a moderate amount of exploration expenditure can grow into a large tax shield."

Presumably the 15% uplift rate was applied to encourage exploration and development. The problem with this in the gas industry (as opposed to oil) is that gas projects have very long lead in times, such that while it's an effective depreciation for revenue purposes in the oil industry, application of the same rate in the gas industry results in zero or minute revenue. The depreciation regime is entirely unfit for purpose and policy makers have done nothing to rectify it. Anomalies like this are the reason PAYG tax rates remain so high in this country. We don't effectively tax other sources.

Reaper.