Alternative fiscal regimes for mining in developing countries

The government revenue from foreign-owned mineral projects in developing countries can be extracted through a variety of alternative tools. This paper scrutinizes the implications for the government and for the private investor, respectively, of fiscal regimes relying mainly on royalties, income taxes and government equity participation. The conclusion of the analysis is that an income tax biased regime offers greater advantages to governments of mineral rich developing countries interested in an efficient and development-promoting expansion of the mineral sector with foreign investor involvement, than do regimes biased in favor of royalties and government equity take.