INCITATIONS FISCALES DANS L’INDUSTRIE MINIÈRE : LIMITER LES RISQUES POUR LES RECETTES

The document introduces a financial model developed by the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Metals (IGF) to help governments quantify the impact of tax incentives on public revenues. It emphasizes that conventional cost estimates often overlook 'behavioral responses'—actions taken by investors to maximize financial gains from incentives—which can significantly increase revenue losses. The guide outlines a four-step framework: estimating reference revenues, calculating direct costs, estimating behavioral costs, and determining the total revenue loss. It provides specific examples of behavioral risks, such as 'high-grading' (écrémage) in response to tax holidays, excessive interest deductions following withholding tax exemptions, and under-invoicing of ore sales under progressive royalty schemes. The document also advocates for the use of scenario modeling and sensitivity analysis to test the robustness of these estimates and determine if incentives are effectively targeted to support marginal investments.

• The total cost of tax incentives is the sum of direct costs (the difference between reference revenues and revenues after incentives) and behavioral costs (the additional revenue loss resulting from investors modifying their behavior to maximize financial advantages).
• Combining multiple tax incentives can lead to a higher total revenue loss than the sum of individual costs due to interdependence and the potential for erosion of the tax base.
• Tax holidays can trigger 'high-grading' (écrémage), where investors increase the cut-off grade to accelerate production during the exemption period, which can nearly double the real-term cost of the incentive by reducing the overall mine life.
• Exemptions of withholding tax on interest can incentivize investors to implement excessive interest deductions by increasing debt levels and interest rates, significantly increasing revenue losses.
• Progressive royalty structures using an 'aggregated structure' can create 'dead zones' where buyers and sellers are incentivized to under-invoice ore sales to stay just below a higher royalty threshold.
• Tax incentives are considered 'well-targeted' if their cost is higher when mine performance is low (e.g., in a worst-case scenario or low price environment) and lower when performance is high; conversely, profit- and revenue-based incentives are typically poorly targeted.

APA

Steel, I. (2018). INCITATIONS FISCALES DANS L’INDUSTRIE MINIÈRE : LIMITER LES RISQUES POUR LES RECETTES. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/tax-incentives-in-mining-minimising-risks-to-revenue-guidance-fr.pdf

Chicago

Steel, Iain. INCITATIONS FISCALES DANS L’INDUSTRIE MINIÈRE : LIMITER LES RISQUES POUR LES RECETTES. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2018. https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/tax-incentives-in-mining-minimising-risks-to-revenue-guidance-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Steel |first1=Iain |title=INCITATIONS FISCALES DANS L’INDUSTRIE MINIÈRE : LIMITER LES RISQUES POUR LES RECETTES |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2018 |url=https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/tax-incentives-in-mining-minimising-risks-to-revenue-guidance-fr.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{steel2018incitations, author = {Steel, Iain}, title = {{INCITATIONS FISCALES DANS L’INDUSTRIE MINIÈRE : LIMITER LES RISQUES POUR LES RECETTES}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2018}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/sites/default/files/publications/tax-incentives-in-mining-minimising-risks-to-revenue-guidance-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }