This paper compares the royalty rates on mining and mineral products among ASEAN member-states.
Brunei and Singapore do not impose any royalties on mining, either due to the absence of natural resources to mine or because other taxes already cover such. The remaining eight ASEAN member-states impose royalties on mining, with seven using ad valorem rates ranging from 1% to 27%. In contrast, Cambodia imposes both specific and ad valorem taxes depending on the mineral products. The Philippines imposes a royalty tax of at least 5% for large-scale and small-scale mining based on gross output market value. A minimum royalty of 1% is paid to indigenous people if the mining site is within their ancestral lands. Cambodia imposes a specific royalty ranging from USD0.15 (PHP8.30) to USD225.00 (PHP12,445.66) per unit, depending on the mineral product, and ad valorem rates from 2% to 15% on the gross revenue of mineral products. Contrarily, Indonesia imposes a royalty of 2% to 10%, depending on sales volume, actual price, or benchmark price. A separate royalty rate of 13.5% based on coal sales price net of marketing or selling expenses is also imposed. Lao PDR imposes a 10% royalty on diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and jades based on the sales value of the mineral products that could be extracted, and a 2% to 7% royalty on mineral products like coal, sodium, iron, metal, and other related products. Malaysia imposes a 5% on metallic, non-metallic, and energy minerals based on the market value of the mineral extracted. Likewise, Thailand imposes royalty ranging from 2% to 20% based on the market price of the mineral product. Myanmar imposes between 2% and 5% on various metals and minerals based on the value when sold. Vietnam imposes 27% on diamonds, rubies, and sapphires; 25% on emeralds, alexandrite, and precious black opal; and 6% to 20% on other mineral products.