RIO Tinto chief executive Tom Albanese says the mining giant is "shocked" and "concerned" about the Federal Government's proposed Resources Super Profits Tax.
Mr Albanese also told a conference in the US today that the company was "not opposed to tax reform per se but it should protect against sovereign risk and improve industry competitiveness."
"We are especially concerned about the inclusion of existing businesses and the arbitrary nature of the 40 per cent tax rate.
"Over the past few weeks, we have been shocked by the Australian government and their recent proposal for an excess profits tax," he said.
Mr Albanese said Rio Tinto would not have invested as heavily in Australia in recent years, especially Western Australia's Pilbara region, if the RSPT had been in place.
"We have ourselves invested about $38 billion since 2000 - fully reinvesting everything we've earned on an after-tax basis," he said.
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"If the super tax had been in place, I think you can be assured that the Pilbara business would have been a lot smaller business now than it actually is today."
