On Market Structure and the Taxation of Exhaustible Resources:

A bstract . The older static theory of the taxation of exhaustible resources is distinguished from the modern theory based on the work of Harold Hotelling Both advocate some form of a profits-based tax , which is appropriate for conditions of perfect competition. But an oligopolistic market structure has additional quasi-rents which could be captured through taxation. It is argued that a sales tax will not only capture the rents but also lower the cut-off grade of the ore mined.