May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Australia will impose a 40 percent tax on the profits of resource companies like BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Group to pay for infrastructure, retirement and company levy changes as part of the broadest overhaul of its tax system since the Second World War.

The government, commenting on Treasury Secretary Ken Henry’s 10-year tax plan, said the tax would start in 2012 and raise A$12 billion ($11.1 billion) in the first two years. The move to better tap into the nation’s mining boom, fueled by commodities demand from China and India, comes as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd prepares for an election later this year.

“This will use super profits on resources owned by all Australians,” Rudd told reporters in Canberra, saying he’s prepared for a backlash to the measures. “This will help convert Australia’s strong economic position today into enduring prosperity.”

The changes set up a potential clash between Rudd and resources companies that make up 9 percent of the economy and last week warned that a 40 percent levy and double taxation with state royalties would threaten $108 billion worth of planned investment.

“If implemented, these proposals seriously threaten Australia’s competitiveness, jeopardize future investments and will adversely impact the future wealth and standard of living of all Australians,” BHP’s Chief Executive Officer Marius Klopperssaid in an e-mailed statement today. The company’s effective tax rate will increase to 57 percent from 2013 from 43 percent now on its Australian earnings, it said.

Profit Cut

BHP, the world’s biggest mining company with 51 percent of its assets in Australia, will have earnings cut by 19 percent as a result of the tax, Merrill Lynch & Co. said in an April 27 report on the 40 percent tax. Rio, the world’s second-largest iron oreexporter, which has about a third of its assets in Australia, would see a 30 percent earnings cut.

The proposal may erode Australia’s “competitiveness, severely curtail investment and limit job growth,” said David Peever, Rio’s managing director for Australia.

“Altering the rules for existing multibillion dollar projects in mid stream, after large amounts of capital have already been put at risk over many years, would be the worst possible message Australia could send to investors,” Peever said in a statement.

The government today said it will compensate companies for the state royalties they have paid.

‘Highest’ Taxes

“Under the plan announced today, Australia will have the highest taxed mining industry in the world,” Minerals Council of Australia Chief Executive Officer Mitch Hooke said in an e- mailed statement. “Australia’s hard-earned reputation as a stable investment environment will be dramatically undermined.”

The government runs the risk of “taking away from Australia the strongest industry we have and the one that saved us from the global financial crisis,” saidKeith De Lacy, chairman of Brisbane-based Macarthur Coal Ltd., the world’s largest producer of pulverized coal. “Always 50 percent of our net profits went into development and exploration and so much of that is going now so obviously we’ll grow slower.”

The introduction of the resource tax would cut Australia’s competitiveness, Citigroup Inc. said on April 28 before the release of the review. Mining companies’ tax burden currently stands at 35 percent, Citigroup said in its report last week.

Chinese and Indian demand for resources from Australia, the world’s biggest exporter of coal, iron ore and alumina, helped the A$1.2 trillion economy skirt recession during the global financial crisis. China is the nation’s largest resource customer.

Aging Population

Rudd’s Labor government, which has led the opposition Liberal-National coalition in opinion polls, commissioned the tax review two years ago to create a simpler and fairer system to meet the needs of a growing and aging population. One quarter of a projected population of 36 million will be aged 65 and over by 2050, increasing pressure on roads, rail, ports, schools and hospitals.

The government will use the resource tax revenue to create a A$5.6 billion infrastructure fund, cut company taxes to 28 percent in mid-2014 from the current 30 percent and boost retirement funds, now worth A$1.3 trillion. It will also give a tax concession for resource exploration, including geothermal, affecting 4,300 companies, Treasurer Wayne Swan said.

The company tax rate, reduced to 30 percent from 36 percent by the previous Liberal-National government, will be cut to 28 percent by mid-2014, with 720,000 small businesses getting a one-year head-start. The government may decrease the rate further.

Retirement Funds

The government will also increase the amount companies have to pay into people’s retirement fund to 12 percent from 9 percent of their gross salary in mid-2019. Australia will also make it more attractive for some 8.4 million Australian workers to increase their own contributions to the pool and the changes will add A$85 billion to the A$1.34 trillion fund, Swan said.

In total, the government’s tax policy changes will add 0.7 percent a year to the nation’s economy.

Economic growth in Australia will accelerate to 3.5 percent in 2011 from 3 percent this year, and the country will continue to be among nations leading the world on raising borrowing costs, the International Monetary Fund said on April 21. Glenn Stevens, the first Group of 20 central bank governor to raise rates after the global recession, also expects Australia’s economic growth to strengthen this year.

We used to say "I donot want to prey on your misfortune".It looks like some serious decisions will have to be made soon.Chances for Canada?

Good luck to all.

Inca.