En Passant

Absolute rent has caused great debate and controversy among left wing writers. Is it actually two concepts – monopoly rent and absolute rent, or just absolute rent arising from the low level of say capital investment in agriculture? [12] I adopt David Harvey’s approach, of distinguishing between absolute rent and monopoly rent. [13] Others, like Faysil Yachir, argue that despite a very high OCC in the mining industry there can still be absolute rent because of monopoly.[14] The two, as I have outlined above are different, but related, a matter which I hope becomes clearer when we work through the differences between State and Territory absolute rents such as royalties and Commonwealth monopoly rents in the form of rent taxes.

My article ‘The Minerals Resource Rent Tax: The Australian Labor Party and the continuity of change’ has been published in (2014) 27 (1) Accounting Research Journal 19. If you have University Library access you can have a read if your library has subscribed. It borrows from the ideas of Tom Bramble and Rick Kuhn about […]

My article ‘The Minerals Resource Rent Tax: The Australian Labor Party and the continuity of change’ has been published in (2014) 27 (1) Accounting Research Journal 19. If you have University Library access you can have a read if your library has subscribed. It borrows from the ideas of Tom Bramble and Rick Kuhn about […]

The resources boom has been an El Dorado for big and dirty capitalism. Now that the capitalists see the writing on the wall, they are preparing to launch another round of attacks. Our side got nothing from the boom. We sure as hell shouldn’t have to pay for the bust.

I have written recently to the Australian Financial Review – a newspaper in the process of joining the fruitcake faction of capital and becoming a more educated version of The Australian – on mining companies and tax and superannuation. In the interests of free speech for more than just billionaires and their sycophants I reproduce below my to date unpublished letters.

The money is there. So why not start all over again? I have a suggestion. How about a 40% super profits tax applying to all resources? Oh…The ghost of Kevin Rudd ensures that won’t happen.

And while we are at it, why not a super profits tax on all super profits, not just those in the resource sector. The Big 4 banks come to mind.

Nationalise the mines under workers’ control.

It’s the interests of the rich schools, the rich miners, the big polluters and the other billionaire bludgers whom Gillard and her Labor Party serve.

One of the best ways to keep interest rates down would be to properly tax resource rents. Thanks for the forthcoming interest rate rises Julia and Tony and Markus, Tom, Twiggy and Clive.