Another update from this months AGI government affairs newsletter describes a new Senate bill (S. 1570) that would eliminate depreciation of mines in the federal tax code due to removal of the minerals.
"The senators argue that the mining companies are receiving double subsidies without providing any revenue to the federal government, such as a royalty, for using public lands."
AGI says the new bill is estimated to generate $50 million per year in increased taxes from minersand half of that revenue would be directed to the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Trust Fund to help clean-up abandoned mines.
"Mining industry officials say the logic fails as it does not take into account the high costs of mineral development and refining. The policy will be bad for attracting future mining investment, especially combined with the expected cost increase from changes to the Mining Act of 1872 already proposed in Congress (S. 796 and H.R. 699)." [above, Morenci copper mine. May 2008]
The full text of S. 1570 is available from Thomas:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:s1570
The full text of the S. 796 and H.R. 699:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:S.796:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:h.r.00699: