Australia’s coal exporters made windfall gain of $45bn last year, report estimates

Report by Australia Institute finds a windfall profits tax could collect almost all this money for public use

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Coal exporters from Australia reaped as much as $45bn in windfall gain in the 2021-22 year, with a similar bonanza likely this year, offering governments a budgetary boon for those willing to grasp it, the Australia Institute has said.

In a report released on Thursday, the institute's economists said Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent disruption to energy markets alone had delivered between $13bn and $23bn of gains to coalminers. All up, those gains totalled between $39bn and $45bn.

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