Tanzania: President threatens to close mines if international firms delay talks to resolve tax dispute
"Magufuli says will close all mines if firms delay talks to resolve tax dispute"
Tanzanian President John Magufuli has said he will close all the mines if mining companies delay negotiations to resolve a dispute over billions of dollars in back taxes which the government say they owe. President Magufuli...said it would be better to give those mines to Tanzanians to extract, sell the minerals themselves and pay the taxes, rather than giving to "people who call themselves investors with the intention of stealing from Tanzanians.” “After we discovered that trillions of shillings were stolen, we called them for negotiations and they agreed, but if they will continue delaying, I will close all mines and give them to Tanzanians,” he said...
President Magufuli has sent shock-waves through the mining community in Africa's fourth-largest gold producer since his election late in 2015 with actions he says are aimed at ensuring that mining companies pay a fair share of taxes. Tanzania has passed new laws to increase mining taxes, to force companies to re-negotiate their contracts and to allow the state to own up to 50 percent of shares in mining companies. [Refers to Acacia Mining]