Claims from the mining industry that they are significant funders of public services in Australia are overblown, ignore the fact that their profits are made off the back of public resources, and are heavily publicly subsidised, the Australia Institute has said.

Key Points:

• Taxes and royalties paid by the mining industry make up just 5 cents in every dollar of state and federal government revenue in Australia.
• 95% of Australia’s public services are paid for by other industries.
• Mining is also heavily subsidised in Australia, receiving the vast bulk of the $11 billion fuel tax credit scheme.

“Relative to its size, the mining industry pays nowhere near enough tax in Australia and, perhaps unsurprisingly, they are keen for that to remain the case,” said Rod Campbell, Research Director at The Australia Institute.

“Australia Institute research shows that Australians dramatically overestimate the economic value of fossil fuel mining to the country.

“If Australia really did rely on the low-employing, tax-avoiding, high-polluting, and largely foreign-owned mining industry for its economic security, we would be in serious trouble.

“Other countries charge far more for their natural resources, while in Australia we subsidise their extraction.

“The fact that the Government collects more money from HECS than it does from the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax is a wake-up call for those in charge.”