Australia’s left-wing government, led by PM Kevin Rudd, has imposed a 40% tax on the profits of mining and resource companies to take effect in 2012. Let’s unpack this a little.
Of course, the headline is that coal and iron-ore producers with large Australian operations (including Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton) are screaming about the hit to their earnings. And if you read the mainstream press faithfully and listen to people like Barack Obama, you know those big business types will do everything they can to protect the profits they steal from the rest of us.
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