The miners say that the RSPT could push rates to nearly 60%, making Australia's mining taxes the world's most burdensome by some distance.

ECONOMIST: A government proposal exposes a rich seam of discord

It intends to use some of the revenues from the RSPT to fund a cut of a couple of percentage points in the general corporation tax, in an effort to boost other Australian businesses and thus rebalance the economy.

ECONOMIST: A government proposal exposes a rich seam of discord