Print PageThe government should ditch the controversial mining tax and renegotiate with all miners on a new revenue-raising scheme, a lobby group for small miners says.
The minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) has raised $126 million in the first six months of operation - significantly short of the estimated $2 billion that was expected in its first financial year.
That prompted calls for the MRRT, which Prime Minister Julia Gillard negotiated with three mining groups after seizing the leadership from Kevin Rudd in June 2010, to be redesigned or scrapped.
AMEC chief executive Simon Bennison said redesigning the tax was not the answer and it should be removed.
A profit-based tax linked to commodity prices was fraught with risks, he said.
"AMEC strongly recommends the federal government scrap this current MRRT and start again, in full consultation with the mining industry, and not just a select few," Mr Bennison said in a statement on Wednesday.
The group was not included in discussions on the MRRT in 2010.
