TREASURY Secretary Ken Henry says he is not disappointed that the resource super profits tax (RSPT) has fallen by the way side ... well, not that much.
The RSPT, born out of the Henry tax review that Dr Henry chaired, was ditched last week after much heated debate between the government and the mining community and has been replaced by the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT).
Dr Henry, facing questions from the Senate Select Committee on fuel and energy, was asked whether he was disappointed the RSPT had been rejected as government policy.
"Believe it or not, not really, or at least not much," Dr Henry replied.
"After 25 years of providing difficult and controversial or contentious advice to government, it is almost something of a surprise when something does get up,"
But he continues to stand by the review committee's recommendation of the resources profits-based tax, as he did at in address at the Australian Business Economists lunch in May.
Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
"Whilst newspaper headlines might have wanted to characterise me as wanting to defend government policy, in that particular address to Australian Business Economists, as I made it quiet clear, that what I was doing was articulating the reasons for the review panel's recommendation."
He said he has always defended bits of advice he had provided to government when they became a matter of public information.
"That was the case with RSPT," he said.
But he would not give an opinion on the MRRT.
"You are inviting me to express an opinion on government policy and I prefer not to."
Henry ‘believes mining tax will fail’Tax credit for companies providing health care gets mixed review
