Treasurer Wayne Swan has again defended the proposed resources super profit tax, saying today it was what the mining industry had asked for.
"The mining industry itself asked for in its submission to the independent tax review, they said 'please update the royalties system, get rid of it and put in place a profits based tax'," he told journalists today.
Mr Swan was in Perth as part of his post-budget roadshow, but has failed to answer many of the issues raised by critics of the proposed tax.
Last night he attended a dinner with Perth business leaders hosted by RSM Bird Cameron and today spoke at a Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA lunch, and on both occasions said businesses should talk to the consultative committee about their concerns.
Mr Swan said the federal government had outlined very clearly in the RSPT proposal that it was prepared to discuss generous transitional provisions for existing projects.
"We said we wanted to have mature discussions with the companies," Mr Swan said.
"We are doing that right now, through consultation arrangements."
Chamber of Minerals & Energy WA director Reg Howard-Smith used today's lunch to ask "what exactly is on the table for discussion".
Mr Swan said he was committed to the general framework of a "40 per cent RSPT".
He acknowledged there had been a spirited debate around the use of the government bond yield to determine when the new tax kicks in, but otherwise repeated his line that the government would consider "generous transitional provisions".
Fortescue Metals Group executive Julian Tapp asked Mr Swan to defend the assertion that the RSPT will be investment neutral.
In particular, he asked if the government had spoken to lenders about whether the government's guarantee of losses under the RSPT was financeable.
"Put that to the committee," Mr Swan replied.
Speaking after the lunch, CCI president Peter Hood encouraged businesses to present detailed financial modelling about the impact of the new tax to the consultative committee.
