Tax Incentives in Mining

The document examines the use of tax incentives in the mining sector, particularly in developing countries, highlighting the risk of overly generous incentives that reduce government revenue. It specifically warns against unintended behavioural responses, such as the acceleration of production during time-limited tax holidays to maximize tax-free revenue, which ultimately depletes resources and lowers long-term fiscal receipts.

• Governments in developing countries often use tax incentives to attract investment, but these can be overly generous, leading to significant losses in tax revenue and potential conflicts with investors.
• Tax incentives can trigger unintended behavioural responses from taxpayers; for instance, a time-limited tax holiday may encourage a mine to accelerate production to increase tax-free revenue, leaving less ore for extraction after the holiday expires and further reducing government revenue.

APA

Readhead,, A. (2018). Tax Incentives in Mining. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/tax-incentives-in-mining-minimising-risks-to-revenue

Chicago

Readhead,, Alexandra. Tax Incentives in Mining. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/tax-incentives-in-mining-minimising-risks-to-revenue.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Readhead, |first1=Alexandra |title=Tax Incentives in Mining |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=1 October 2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/tax-incentives-in-mining-minimising-risks-to-revenue |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{readhead2018tax, author = {Readhead,, Alexandra}, title = {{Tax Incentives in Mining}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, month = oct, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/tax-incentives-in-mining-minimising-risks-to-revenue}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }