SANTIAGO (Reuters) -Chile’s senate approved on Wednesday a long-awaited new mining royalty bill, passing it back to the lower chamber for a final vote that could come as early as next week.
Chile is the world’s top copper producer and the bill aims to raise taxes on large copper producers.
Earlier this week, the government said it reached an agreement with senators to cut the top tax rate to 46.5% from 47% for companies that produce over 80,000 tonnes of fine copper a year, and 45.5% for production in the 50,000-80,000 range.
The bill had initially proposed a ceiling of 50%, but this was brought down repeatedly amid legislative debate and criticism from the mining industry.
The bill is part of the government’s wider plan to overhaul the country’s tax system, a key part of which was shelved by Congress in March.
The royalty bill also establishes a 1% ad valorem tax on copper sales from companies whose sales exceed 50,000 tonnes of fine copper, as well as a tax ranging from 8% to 26%, depending on the miner’s operating margin.
Chile’s National Mining Society, known by its Spanish initials Sonami, issued a statement Tuesday saying that even with the adjustments to the original proposal, the bill’s total tax burden for the sector remains higher than in competing countries.
(Reporting by Natalia Ramos in Santiago and Carolina Pulice in Mexico City; Editing by Isabel Woodford)
