Turnbull introduces an $80-mn tax plan to boost mining

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has unveiled a A$100 million ($80 million) tax incentive to encourage investment in junior mining exploration companies across Western Australia, a state that bore the brunt of the nation’s resources slowdown. The Australian government is enacting a “junior mineral exploration tax credit scheme” to boost productivity in the state’s mining sector, Turnbull said at a Liberal Party state conference in Perth on Saturday. “It will allow junior exploration companies to generate tax credits and immediately distribute them to investors,” Turnbull said. “It will make investing in these companies much more attractive, and it will help them raise new capital for greenfield exploration.”