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Los Angeles County To Tax Outer Space
paladino writes: "The LA County Tax Collectors office wants to collect property taxes from Huges Electronics for the value of their satellites orbiting the earth. They say 'satellites are no different from other movable personal property that he has authority to tax.'" Perhaps LA will need to open a lot for satellites confiscated for non-payment, too. See also The Man Who Owned the Moon by Robert A. Heinlein. Update: 07/11 02:02 PM by J : OK, OK, it's The Man Who Sold the Moon - blame me for this one. Timothy foolishly trusted my brain. /me runs memtest86 on his cranium
W
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This is my SIG. There are many like it, but this one is mine.
From http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20010710/tc/life _satellites_dc_1.html. This actually was on Reuters a few hours before the slashdot post.
Tuesday July 10 7:46 PM ET
L.A. May Be Shot Down in Bid to Tax Satellites
By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles officials seeking to impose property taxes on space satellites were brought back down to Earth on Tuesday when a state board moved toward declaring satellites beyond the reach of even the tax collector.
But Los Angeles County Assessor Rick Auerbach said he was not yet ready to scrap the proposed tax and would consider a court challenge if he finds that the California State Board of Equalization has circumvented state or federal law.
It was Auerbach who determined that eight communications satellites owned by Hughes Electronics Corp.(NYSE:GMH - news) and currently in geostationary orbit 22,300 miles over Earth's equator were taxable as movable property that was currently out of state, similar to construction equipment.
That decision prompted county officials to consider an assessment on the communications satellites, which are each worth up to $100 million new.
But State Board of Equalization members appeared to short circuit that plan on Tuesday when they voted 5-0 to ``fast track'' a rule that satellites cannot be taxed, even though Hughes, a unit of GM (NYSE:GM - news), is based in Los Angeles.
The decision came after presentations by Hughes and Auerbach and directs the board's staff to draft a rule declaring the satellites nontaxable. Board members would vote on that proposed rule in the coming months.
George Jamison, a Hughes vice president, said the firm was relieved and pleased by what he called the ``good common sense'' of the board and said they considered the proposed tax a very bad idea from the start.
HUGHES: TAX IS 'LUDICROUS'
``It's ludicrous, absolutely,'' Jamison said. ``It's the type of issue, quite frankly, that causes the company to consider relocating its base of operations to a more business-friendly environment.''
The satellites are not launched from California, do not pass over California while in orbit and will never return to the state, instead becoming space junk, he said.
``We think the ruling is important,'' Jamison said. ``These spacecraft are not be in the state of California, have never been in the state of California during their useful lives and will never be in the state of California in the future.''
Auerbach conceded that the board members ``have made up their mind already that the property is not taxable,'' but said the issue was not necessarily dead because he had researched the case and found legal opinions supporting his position.
``I'll have to see what basis they have for the rule,'' Auerbach said. ``If I believe it's improper (under the) U.S. Constitution and and state statutes my option is to go to Superior Court.''
``I have to keep an open mind,'' Auerbach said. ``Based on the opinions I have I think it still looks taxable.''
Auerbach insisted that he was not pushing for a tax on the satellites but was simply doing his job and trying to determine whether they should be taxed.
``I'm neutral on the whole thing,'' he said. ``My job is to make sure all property that's taxable gets assessed and I'm going to follow the law. If the law says its not taxable it's not taxable. If it is taxable I will assess it.''
L.A. needs that tax revenue to buy batteries.
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"Outlook not so good." That magic 8-ball knows everything! I'll ask about Exchange Server next.
... just attach a "satallite boot" to it!
(this idea is actually from my wife, not me)
(like most of my better ideas)
(and most of my better jokes for that matter)
The next site to slashdot will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and start slashdotting it early!
And it's not _just_ DirecTV - that's just a little of the Hughes presence in El Segundo. Hughes sits on about a square mile of real estate there, and their tax bills - and those of their highly-paid engineers - are certainly not insigifigant for LA.
Hughes should just pull up stakes and move to some friendly state (like Texas - "Hey, we gotta Prez, for a couple years.") or maybe the Research Triangle, like Boeing just got fed up with WA and announced moving to Chicago. That would serve this particular pol bastard right. Let him be known as the (one-term) Assessor who chased Hughes off. This is one of the worst over-reachings ever.
He's just gotten laughed out of the CA State Board of Equalization (which is usually not unsympathetic to taxing entities). Later, he will get foreclosed in State and Federal courts. Guess what, the taxpayors in LA will pay for his folly. They should recall this idiot!
I bet LA would back down if Huges threatened to close all operations there. Facing the taxpayers come election time just isn't worth it.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Forget about the lot for storage of confiscated orbital property. Lets talk about the launch vehicle that LA is going to build to so they can get up there and impound them with in the first place.
Ascii artist &
Carousel is a lie!
We are most sorry that we cannot afford to pay the taxes that you request from our current liquid assets. However, we do believe that the current value of one of our satellites will be enough to pay our debt to you. We will be delivering it to city hall as soon as we make some minor adjustments to our targeti.. err .. I mean delivery system.
134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
Property taxes are generally justified as payment for public services provided to residents (police, trash collection, public schools, etc.). The government obviously has no business collecting property taxes, then, on property I own in Norway.
Similarly, what the hell kind of services does the County of Los Angeles provide in outer space? There sure ain't no curb-side (satellite-side?) recycling...
...wait until Microsoft demands an auditor be sent out to the satellites to insure full licence compliance.
-Rob
I am always amazed at what a far cry from our founding fathers these little tiny, narrow-sighted minds of our legislators are. Which is going to bring more money into L.A.:
a) Satellite taxes which will only be effective ONCE becuase the next all of the companies that have satellites will be moving out (costing jobs, housing, industries that support such companies)
b) Lowering taxes for aerospace companies and encouraging thier growth (and thus building new jobs, raising property values, creating entire enconomies based on the needs of those high-tech companies)
I see quotes in the article like "Worth as much as $100 million each to Hughes Electronics in El Segundo, the satellites could bring in millions of dollars a year in taxes to schools and government." But that is an amazingly childish way of thinking. Sure you will get one round of taxes out of them, and you will look all smart and suave to your voters (Taxes are FOR THE CHILDREN! Think of the schools!), but next year when your high-tech companies have left and you have soaring unemployment and now are getting no revenue from your stupid taxes, then you'll have to ask yourself what good you actually did.
"Your superior intellect is no match for our puny weapons!"