Rio Tinto has shared the details of the USD$10.8 billion of global taxes and royalties paid in 2022 in its latest Taxes and Royalties Paid Report, with Australia receiving the majority of the spending.
Home to almost half of the company’s assets, AU$12.3 billion (US$8.5 billion) in taxes and royalties was paid in Australia in 2022, down from AU$14.8 billion (USD$11.1 billion) in 2021.
In the past ten years, Rio Tinto has paid $74.9 billion in taxes and royalties globally, of which more than 78 per cent was paid in Australia.
The 2022 figure of USD$10.8 billion compares to USD$13.3 billion in 2021, during very strong commodity prices, and is the third-highest annual global taxes and royalties amount paid by Rio Tinto since the publishing of its first annual Taxes Paid Report in 2010.
Rio Tinto also made significant tax and royalty payments in Canada (US$718 million), Chile (USD$678 million), Mongolia (USD$294 million) and the US(USD$135 million).
Rio Tinto Chief Financial Officer, Peter Cunningham, said, “At Rio Tinto, we are finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs, and it is important that we do this responsibly and transparently, while contributing to the host countries and communities where we live and work.
“Taxes and royalties play a critical role in the economic and social development of the regions and communities we operate in. As temporary custodians of the land where we operate, we have a responsibility to extract value from the minerals and materials we produce in the safest and most sustainable way.
“This includes providing economic opportunities, safeguarding and promoting health, wellbeing, and human rights, combatting climate change, and being the best possible stewards of the natural resources entrusted to us.”
