Fortescue says `super profit tax` dead

Fortescue Metals Group Ltd has again declared the original framework of the
resources super profits tax (RSPT) as "dead and buried".
Fortescue also says Kevin Rudd's ousting as prime minister will be futile if the
mining sector can't negotiate a better mining tax deal with Julia Gillard.
The miner's chief executive Andrew Forrest complained in May that the Rudd
government was not returning calls.
However, on Tuesday the company said it "had been working closely with Mr Rudd's
office in the days leading up to his departure".
Fortescue's view that the original version of the mining was "dead and buried" was
reinforced by discussions with the former prime minister and his office, it said.
Fortescue and other miners that had spoken with Mr Rudd's office had "achieved a
position on the handling of the super mining tax which was to be released as a
discussion paper to the mining industry".
Fortescue has called for the RSPT to be amended so it kicks in when profits exceed
15 per cent, not six per cent.
It also wants the Gillard government to consider "an open discussion on the headline
rate" of 40 per cent.
"It would be a great shame if the finalised outcome of any negotiations between the
Gillard government and the mining industry were anything less than what was achieved
while Mr Rudd was prime minister, otherwise his departure will be recognised as
futile," Mr Forrest said.