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March 19th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Finance Minister Penny Wong says she is confident the government’s newly passed mining tax will survive any High Court challenge the opposition might launch against it.
Legislation that imposes a 30 per cent tax on the extraordinary profits of coal and iron ore miners passed the Senate on Monday night 38 votes to 32, with support of the Greens.
The government says the tax will help spread the benefits of the mining boom to less well-off sectors of the economy.
It plans to use the $11 billion it will generate over three years to boost compulsory superannuation contributions, pay for infrastructure and provide a one per cent tax cut for business.
Coalition senators argued fiercely against the tax during the final hours of debate in the Senate on Monday, maintaining it will hurt the mining industry.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has vowed to repeal the tax if he wins government.
Liberal Senator Mathias Cormann says it is likely to be scuttled by the High Court.
“I am confident that will happen soon,” he told ABC Radio on Tuesday.
Senator Wong said she had sought legal advice, and was confident the tax would hold up against any High Court challenge mounted against it.
The mining tax will be in force from July 1, 2012.
Treasurer Wayne Swan declared it a historic day, describing the MRRT as “a measure of great substance”.
He rejected suggestions the government had foregone up to $60 billion in revenue over 10 years by changing the original design of the tax.
“That figure is just grossly inaccurate,” he told ABC radio on Tuesday.
The revenue take from the MRRT was “broadly the same, a bit less” over the budget’s forward estimates as the original super profits tax.
Revenue was dependent on the exchange rate, volumes and commodity prices, the treasurer said.
The government is relying on gathering about $11 billion from the tax in its first three years.
But economists and tax experts warn Treasury projections are at risk from falling commodity prices, the strong dollar and large tax breaks negotiated with the big miners.
The Minerals Council has told The Australian Financial Review that at no stage did it agree to revenue outcomes or predictions.
Fortescue, one of the mot vociferous opponents of the tax, estimates it will pay between zero and $20 million annually during the first three years of the tax’s operation.
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