The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has published its new tax principles for a sustainable mining industry and provided data on social and economic contributions made by its members.
In 2023, ICMM members paid corporate income tax and royalty payments of $54.2 billion, employed 561,800 people, paid $39.1 billion in wages and related payments and $187.2 billion to suppliers. Community and social investment totalled $1.4 billion.
The total adjusted profits of $888.8 billion reported over a 10-year period (2013-2023) translates to $36 out of every $100 of profit earned by members being paid in CIT and royalties.
Alongside the social contribution data, ICMM also published its briefing paper titled Unlocking Prosperity: Tax Principles for Sustainable Mining, where it explores tax policy principles to support responsible mine development. This includes royalty payments, corporate income tax, deductions and incentives, international competitiveness, fiscal stability and administration and transparency.
These principles and design elements have been applied to three scenarios across Latin America, Africa and Canada, US and Australia to show how, by using different tax levers, governments can foster productivity and an effective investment environment.
The report does not prescribe specific tax regimes of a reform agenda but rather an analysis of different leading practice tax policy design elements and the possible social and economic gains and costs of applying them.
“It is vital that governments design fiscal regimes that encourage responsible mining investments for the common good, and this paper provides important perspectives in that regard,” said Rohitesh Dhawan, ICMM’s president and CEO.
Theodor Lisovoy, Editor in Chief, Rough&Polished
