Special tax for miners

Press, 17 June 1980, Page 31

Special tax for miners

Wellington reporter Special tax provisions apply to companies mining gold and other minerals in New Zealand, according to the Deputy Minister of Finance (Mr Templeton). He was replying in Parliament to a question by the National member for Tauranga (Mr K. R. Allen) on what royalties and taxation were payable by companies mining gold and other minerals, whether they were free to export those metals, and how their recovery benefited New Zealand’s overseas exchange balance. In general, if a mineral could be used in New Zealand, a licence to export would not be granted. No royalties were payable on gold, Mr Templeton said. Holders of mineral licences had to pay royalties at a rate determined by the Minister of

Energy. A licence was required from the Customs Department to export precious metals, strategic metals, copper and copper-based ingots, bars and rods, ironsands, radio-active materials, greenstone, and gold (including gold coin). Licences for gold were not normally granted except for exports by or on behalf of monetary authorities and industrial users. The effect on New Zealand’s overseas exchange balance was difficult to assess, he said. Any receipts of overseas exchange from export salfes would need to be balanced against the overseas exchange content of plant and machinery, etc., used in the extraction of the mineral. Gross overseas exchange of $34 million had been earned from the sale of minerals in 1979.