When I made an amused reference to item on satellites in the new UN tax committee’s agenda, I wasn’t really sure what it was about. Richard Murphy thought it might be a plan to create tax havens in space. But, now that the UN secretariat have released some preliminary documents for the committee meeting next month, I think it may be a very good example of the differing interests of developed and developing countries in international tax.
In the most recent update of the OECD’s model tax treaty, there’s a discussion about whether a satellite in geostationary orbit (that is, always above the same point on the earth’s surface) could be a permanent establishment (taxable entity) in the country over which it orbits, or to which it transmits signals. Here is the full quote from the OECD model treaty as given in the UN document [pdf]:
5.5 Clearly, a permanent establishment may only be considered to be situated in a Contracting State if the relevant place of business is situated in the territory of that State. The question of whether a satellite in geostationary orbit could constitute a permanent establishment for the satellite operator relates in part to how far the territory of a State extends into space. No member country would agree that the location of these satellites can be part of the territory of a Contracting State under the applicable rules of international law and could therefore be considered to be a permanent establishment situated therein. Also, the particular area over which a satellite’s signals may be received (the satellite’s “footprint”) cannot be considered to be at the disposal of the operator of the satellite so as to make that area a place of business of the satellite’s operator
The OECD position is unanimous and, so it suggests, inevitable based on other aspects of international law. But consider this: most of the world’s commercial satellites are owned by companies resident in OECD countries. Many (perhaps all) developing countries have satellites permanently orbiting over them and broadcasting signals onto their territory, while down at ground level they have no companies making profits from this industry. Under the OECD position, there is no possibility of developing countries raising corporate income tax from this sector.
There may be a philosophical discussion that is much broader than tax, as the OECD commentary suggests, about ‘how far the territory of a State extends into space’. But I imagine that the consequence of the point about the satellite’s ‘footprint’ is that a state has no right to treat a satellite as a taxable entity if it is, say, broadcasting commercial TV to its residents, or providing GPS positioning to people on its territory.
If my assumptions are correct, that makes for quite an interesting discussion. A quick hunt around online suggests, for example, that the fixed position of a satellite in geostationary orbit means that it is not considered as movable property as far as US state tax is concerned – which might imply that it is a fixed place of business for international tax purposes. What would be the positions of the BRICS, some of which have their own burgeoning space sectors? Already, an OECD consultation document [pdf] implies that there were disagreements on this issue among its members.
I would guess that smaller developing countries have not considered this matter at all. In any event, I will certainly look forward to the discussion in October!
Martin Hearson 