WA gold royalty hike disappointing - Bishop

PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop has labelled the Western Australian government’s recent hike in gold royalties and the introduction of a payroll tax as "disappointing".

Speaking on the sidelines of the Africa Downunder conference, Bishop said that it was regrettable that the state government’s priority was to tax companies that were offering jobs at a time when unemployment was increasing.

“Western Australia has been a significant contributor to our national economy,” Bishop said, adding that the extractive industry had assisted in Australia recording its twenty-sixth consecutive year of uninterrupted economic growth.

“Much of that is due to the contribution that the Western Australian economy has made through our mining, resources and energy sector. It is a retrograde step to increase taxes on the very sectors of the economy that are driving not only Western Australia’s growth but also Australia’s continued economic success.”

The state government this week announced an increased royalty rate on gold production as part of efforts to repair the state’s finances.

While the current 2.5% rate will apply for each month when the gold spot price is A$1 200/oz or less, it would increase to a rate of 3.75% when the gold spot price is above A$1 200/oz.

In addition, the current exemption for the first 2 500 oz of gold produced each year will be removed from July 1, 2018 for miners producing more than 2 500 oz/y.

The government also announced a new payroll tax scale from July 1, which would see employers with Australia-wide payrolls between A$100-million and A$1.5-billion taxed at a marginal rate of 6.5%.