In Sweden, interactions between the state and sub-national interests concerning the distribution of rent from natural resources have often focused on what constitutes a ‘fair’ distribution of taxing and spending. This article studies how this became manifested during a dispute between the mining towns of Kiruna and Gällivare and the Swedish state concerning the taxation of the mining company Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB). In collaboration with other actors, Kiruna and Gällivare tried to persuade the state to assign the local level wider capacities to collect tax revenue from LKAB. Despite experiencing repeated setbacks, Kiruna and Gällivare continued the process based on a strong faith that the state eventually would accept their interpretation of how an equitable taxation of natural resources should be designed. This persistence reflected the contemporary expectations among public actors in northern Sweden that the state would contribute to correct what was perceived as an unfair distribution of resource rent.