Following a motion presented by Senator Cormann, and agreed to by the Senate on 17 September 2012, the Government was ordered to produce and table documents in the Senate concerning the Minerals Resource Rent Tax (MRRT). The information sought related to the costing of the MRRT over the forward estimates and specifically sought the cost to the Budget of various increases in State royalties broken down by State and commodity, and the cost to the Budget of the starting base deduction for those using the market valuation method as part of the MRRT.
On Wed 19.9.2012, the Minister for Tertiary Education tabled in the Senate a statement by the Treasurer advising that it was not possible to comply with the order “for a number of reasons, including that it would disclose commercial-in-confidence information. Mr Swan said the Government would provide an updated MRRT revenue estimate as part of the MYEFO. He said the Government was also awaiting the final report from the GST Distribution Review, which is examining the incentives for States to reduce MRRT revenue through increasing mineral royalties.
[LTN 183, 20/9]