PERTH (miningweekly.com) – Mining major Rio Tinto this week revealed that it had paid about $7.1-billion in global taxes during 2014, with the majority of royalties paid in Australia.
The company paid $5.6-billion in Australia, $432-million in Canada, $262-million in Chile, $211-million in the US, $185-million in Mongolia, $110-million in South Africa, $106-million in France, $67-million in Guinea, $44-million in Singapore and $29-million in the UK.
In its latest voluntary taxes paid report, Rio noted that between 2010 and 2014, the company paid an average effective rate of about 42.5%.
“Rio Tinto continues to be a major contributor to the economies of its host nations. Through our tax and royalty contribution, investments, employment, local purchasing and contracting, we are a major generator of wealth and economic activity. We are very proud of this record,” said CFO Chris Lynch.
“The taxes paid report is important evidence of our commitment to taxation transparency. We were a founding member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative and strongly advocate the need to appropriately disclose payments to governments around the world.”
Lynch noted that 2014 had been a year of significant change in the international tax landscape, with a particular focus on efforts to eliminate Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).
He added that while Rio supported the aims of these efforts, governments had to be mindful not to inadvertently damaging the investment environment when implementing BEPS proposals.
“To tackle BEPS issues effectively, we must adopt a coherent global approach and improve cross-border cooperation rather than take unilateral action that adds to compliance costs and dampens trade and investment,” Lynch said.