12 K ids in the M iddle Corporate R egulation T axation Commitee The Corporate R egulation and T axation Committee advises the AMEC Council and Ex ecutive on issues that may impact the Association s membership The Committee dealt with a number of issues in 2018 which were focussed on reducing the costs of doing business and increasing investment in greenfelds e xploration that included Successful introduction of Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive JMEI Following strong advocacy by AMEC the Federal Government implemented the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive in April 2018 for the 201718 year The second round of applications for the four year program was fully subscribed for the 201819 year AMEC provided considerable input in the design of the JMEI which allows eligible companies to pass tax credits to their A ustralian shareholders The Government provided a funding allocation of 100m over four years In our Federal Election Platform we called upon the incoming Government to rollover the Incentive for a further four years with an increased allocation of 50m per annum R oyalty issues Following the defeat of the proposed 50 increase in the gold royalty rate by the W A Government we have continued to e xpress concern about the fawed 2015 Mineral R oyalty R ate Analysis R eport which initially recommended an increase to 3 75 W e also prevented a proposed change to the R oyalty R egulations which could have seen an inadvertent and unacceptable increase in the royalty rate for nick el AMEC has also been working closely with relevant members in relation to the royalty rate applying to lithium spodumene and or lithium hydro xide R esearch and Development T ax Incentive legislation AMEC has continued to lobby the Federal Government to maintain this important tax incentive Through various submissions and the P arliamentary process AMEC has opposed proposed legislative changes to the Incentive which includes a proposed annual 4m cap W e are also continuing to recommend a variety of administrative processes to improve the selfassessment system A SIC Information Sheet 214 Forward looking statements W e continue to monitor the efectiveness of A SIC Information Sheet 214 and A SX guidance concerning forwardlooking statements and scoping studies Building and Construction Industry T raining Fund L evy Following an announcement in the 201819 W A Budget we have been working closely with the Government regarding the implementation of the levy on resource sector engineering construction work This includes construction work on all facilities relating to new and e xisting resources sector projects The levy will be disbursed to support training needs of the S tates construction workforce W e have been successful in obtaining some increased clarity on how the levy is calculated in relation to resource projects Maximising Shareholder V alue Forum W e held a very successful Forum in P erth on Maximising Shareholder V alue which included a range of speak ers from industry and k ey regulators P ort authority fees and charges AMEC continues to call for a review of port authority fees and charges structures W e remain concerned that the sizeable returns on assets refect e x cessive mark et power Close liaison with R egulators AMEC is in regular close liaison will all corporate R egulators such as the A T O A SX A SIC A usIndustry T reasury and S tate R evenue agencies This provides a great opportunity to provide twoway feedback on critical issues afecting or lik ely to afect the industry