Santiago, Chile—Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile SA (SQM) issued a statement about Chile’s Royalty Tax Law on March 10 in order, it said, to clarify information published in the Chilean press in recent days. Regarding the Chilean law to establish a specific tax on mining activity, which was enacted in 2005 and modified in 2010, SQM stated it and its subsidiaries did not receive any benefits whatsoever in comparison to other mining companies that are subject to this law. “In the law and its modifications, it is clear that there is no special regimen, benefits, or economic advantages for SQM and its subsidiaries,” SQM said. During the first three years the modification to the law was in force, i.e., 2010 and 2012, SQM said it and its subsidiaries paid mining royalty taxes of approximately $75 million, compared to approximately $29 million for the three preceding years (2007 to 2009). The significant increase in the mining royalty taxes paid by the company was due both to an improvement in its operating results and the significant increase in the effective tax rates as a result of the change in the law, SQM said.
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