FED:Govt confident of mining figures

AAP General News (Australia)
12-23-2010
FED:Govt confident of mining figures

CANBERRA, Dec 23 AAP - The federal government is standing by the costings of its proposed
mining tax, insisting they won't lead to a budget black hole.

Treasurer Wayne Swan has reportedly been told of a multibillion dollar shortfall in
the $7.4 billion Minerals Resource Rent Tax.

An unnamed senior government figure, and numerous officials, have told the Australian
Financial Review the likely revenue is closer to $5 billion.

They claim the commodity price assumptions used to determine the revenue are unrealistic
and require downward revision.

Labor MP Richard Marles disagrees, saying the government's figures stack up.

"The independent costings have been done in a very conservative way, we are very confident
of the figures," the parliamentary secretary told Sky News.

"If anything ... we are seeing the spot prices on iron ore increase," he said, questioning
the report's anonymous sources.

Liberal MP Simon Birmingham criticised the government's handling of the tax, saying
it resembled a "daytime opera".

"It's just going from saga to saga," he told Sky News, noting numerous multibillion
cost variations since the tax was proposed.

"And now we are seeing the potential for a multibillion black hole that will see (the)
budget blown to smithereens."

AAP sld/mm

KEYWORD: MRRT

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