Chile to levy charge on mining companies

Chile will impose a charge on mining companies operating there in an effort to ensure that the country receives more benefits from its mineral wealth. The charge will be tied to companies’ sales and take into account their profits.

The charge will be credited to companies’ tax payments for the first three years and would raise about $100 million annually after that, based on a copper price of US90 per lb.

Chile is the world’s largest copper producer, accounting for more than a third of global output from copper mines. The country is taking a step back from low-tax policies that have helped attract investment from companies, including London-based BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company, and Phoenix, Ariz.-based Phelps Dodge.

“It’s fair and responsible to establish a mechanism that allows the accumulation of funds to meet the future depletion of mining resources,” the government says in a release.

Companies with sales of less than US$14 million per year would be exempt from the charge. The charge would apply to companies that have operating profit margins greater than 5%.

Print


 

Republish this article

Be the first to comment on "Chile to levy charge on mining companies"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*


By continuing to browse you agree to our use of cookies. To learn more, click more information

Dear user, please be aware that we use cookies to help users navigate our website content and to help us understand how we can improve the user experience. If you have ideas for how we can improve our services, we’d love to hear from you. Click here to email us. By continuing to browse you agree to our use of cookies. Please see our Privacy & Cookie Usage Policy to learn more.

Close