SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Lawmakers in Chile’s decrease home of Congress gave last approval on Wednesday for a long-awaited mining tax reform that now requires solely the signature of leftist President Gabriel Boric, who has publicly backed it, to turn out to be regulation.
The reform would require giant copper and lithium producers that function within the mineral-rich Latin American nation to pay extra taxes and royalties to the federal government.
Chile is the world’s high copper producer and No. 2 in lithium, each seen as key to creating future fleets of electrical autos powered by rechargeable batteries.
By a vote of 101 in favor to 24 towards, lawmakers accredited modifications to the tax and royalty invoice endorsed by the Senate final week.
The lopsided vote was hailed by Finance Minister Mario Marcel, who underscored that the upper authorities take required of mining firms would handle previous abuses.
“With this laws, we search to keep away from what occurred many occasions with our nation’s pure riches: they have been exploited, they disappeared, which left little or no for the nation and its future growth,” Marcel instructed reporters after the vote.
Underneath the reform, the highest tax price will attain as much as almost 47% for firms that produce over 80,000 tonnes of effective copper a yr, thought-about excessive by the {industry}.
It additionally establishes a 1% advert valorem tax on copper gross sales from firms that promote greater than 50,000 tonnes of effective copper, in addition to a further 8% to 26% tax relying on the miner’s working margin.
Mining affiliation Sonami expressed aid that the measure ended uncertainty over the kind of reform lawmakers would finally undertake.
“Uncertainty lasted for nearly 5 years and, surely, harm the nation’s predominant productive exercise,” Sonami mentioned in an announcement.
The affiliation described the ultimate legislative language as “higher” than what was initially proposed by the federal government, giving credit score to Marcel for enacting industry-friendly revisions.
Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Carolina Pulice; Modifying by David Alire Garcia and Jamie Freed
