Zambia Removes Copper Export Tax Restriction

The Wall Street Journal reported today that Zambia has done away with a controversial tax restriction on copper exports. The rule change will end an ongoing standoff with companies, with miners such as Glencore Plc (LSE:GLEN) set to receive millions in tax refunds.

As quoted in the publication:

The rule, requiring mining companies to present import documents from the country of destination to get tax refunds, will be scrapped from Sept. 8, ending a spat over more than $600 million in accumulated value-added tax refunds that had been threatening to hobble the country’s mining industry.

The development comes just a few days after the chamber of mines warned that copper-mining companies are facing a financial squeeze due to the delayed refund, threatening output and jobs in the continent’s second-leading copper producer.

Click here to read the full Wall Street Journal article.