Major Changes To Québec’s Mining Tax Regime

Following several months of uncertainty since the announcement of modifications to the Québec mining tax regime, the Québec Minister of Finance and the Economy, Nicolas Marceau, together with the Québec Minister of Natural Resources, Martine Ouellet, have finally announced the amendments that they propose to make to the Mining Tax Act.

An information bulletin released on May 6, 2013 (Information Bulletin) describes the amendments. The Information Bulletin sets out a series of changes to the current regime, which essentially imposes a 16% tax on an operator's annual profit. Under the new rules, the mining duties that an operator will be required to pay will correspond to the greater of (1) a "minimum mining tax" for a given fiscal year or (2) a mining tax based on the operator's profit for the year. The Information Bulletin also introduces certain other measures, including changes to the existing rules governing an operator's processing allowance, the depreciation