Administrateur du site
Messages: 4394
Inscription: Jeu 30 Juil 2009 16:48
Localisation: la seyne sur mer
as the mine clears air on windfall tax calls
FIRST-QUANTUM Minerals (FQM) has said it has on average been paying US$1.5 million per day in taxes and justified Government’s removal of the windfall tax.
FQM says calls from some quarters for the re-introduction of windfall tax were not justifiable because the current tax arrangement was suitable and ensured growth in the mining sector.
FQM resident director Kwalela Lamaswala said in Lusaka that the mining company has since 2007 paid $1 billion (about K5 trillion) in taxes to Government from its production of copper at Kansanshi Mine in North-Western Province.
Mr Lamaswala said in addition, the company is expected to pay a further $374 million in tax before June 2011 this year.
“Before end of June Kansanshi will contribute $347 million in taxes to Government and that is about $1.5 million in taxes pay day and this is not like in the pre-privatisation-era where Government was subsidising ZCCM to a tune of $1 million per day,” he said.
He said that the windfall tax was a discriminating tax and not helpful to mining companies that were already contributing to Government coffers and reinvesting in operations and expansions.
Mining firms pay variable profit tax at 15 per cent, mineral royalties at three per cent in addition to the corporate tax of 30 per cent.
Mr Lamaswala said that mining in Zambia had evolved to great profitability from the huge losses under the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM) and that the new mines should be supported and not strained.
He said when Kansanshi Mine was being established in 2005, Government gave it a six-year relief from taxes until it reached profitability levels within 18 months and started paying tax in 2007.
Mr Lamasala said Kansanshi, which is one of Africa’s biggest mines, endured the lowest ever copper prices during its start up and when the copper prices started rising, it was able to break even and started posting profits and begun to pay taxes.
He said from the profits, 40 per cent of the figures went into re-investment which includes upgrading and expansion, with one being the extra production of 220,000 tonnes of copper per year at the mine.
And FQM president Clive Newall said windfall tax did not only affect the large-scale mines but also smaller ones, as it brought limitation to expansions and reinvestment.
He said FQM had been in Zambia since 1996 and has been contributing to the growth of the Zambian economy.