Sydney, 1 October 2010

The Australian government has called for submissions on its controversial mining tax by Oct 28 as its starts a series of consultations with mining executives.

A government and private "policy transition group" will explore a range of issues aimed at determining who pays the tax and who does not, including exploration exemptions and valuation methods, the group said in a statement.

The government has already promised new investment will be given "generous treatment" in the form of immediate write offs, rather than depreciation over a number of years.

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