[Greens-Media] Spam: Greens announce bill to abolish fuel subsidies for big miners

[Stahel, Peter (Sen C. Milne)]

Greens announce bill to abolish fuel subsidies for big miners

The Greens have announced a bill to abolish fuel credits for the big miners so they no longer get off scot free in Tony Abbott's brutal budget, saving $13 billion over the forward estimates. The bill would abolish fossil fuel subsidies except for agricultural purposes, meaning farmers will not be impacted.

An online campaign in support of the bill starts today, and compares the massive subsidies given to the big miners with the brutal cuts in Tony Abbott's budget.

"Big mining corporations get off scot free in Tony Abbott's brutal budget. Why should they get cheap fuel while important services for everyone else are slashed?" Greens Leader Christine Milne said.

"The big miners can't cry poor. While Tony Abbott seeks to punish the unemployed, aged, and sick, companies like BHP, Glencore and Rio Tinto are raking in mind-boggling multi-billion dollar profits. 

"The Greens want people like Gina Rinehart and Clive Palmer to pay their fair share so that we can continue to improve the vital public services that Australians cherish and that will build a more caring nation.

"The G20, IMF, OECD and World Bank have all urged governments to stop providing fossil fuel subsidies. Australia needs to fall into line. The age of entitlement for the big end of town is over.

"Tony Abbott was wrong to ask everyday Australians to dig deeper in his brutal budget. Now it is time for him to ask those that are already doing the digging to return some of our resources and share the wealth with all Australians before the boom is over."

The Mining Subsidies Legislation Amendment (Raising Revenue) Bill 2014 will abolish the following fossil fuel subsidies from 1 January 2015:
* The diesel fuel rebate for the mining industry - since the carbon price repeal, mining companies no longer pay a cent in tax for their fuel, compared to ordinary Australians who pay 38 cents litre.
* Accelerated asset depreciation for aircraft, the oil and gas industry and vehicles, excepting for those used for agricultural purposes - instead of the usual practice of depreciating assets such as cars, planes and machinery over their useful life, the mining industry is allowed to claim depreciation over a shorter period. 
* Immediate deduction for exploration and prospecting expenses for the mining industry - expenditure on exploration and prospecting by the mining industry is immediately deductible for company tax rather than depreciated over time as is the usual practice for investments.

Costings from the Parliamentary Budget Office, requested by the Greens, show that removing these tax concessions for the big miners, would raise $13 billion in revenue.