Blue Origin and Sierra Space announced this week plans for Orbital Reef, a “commercially developed, owned, and operated space station” to be built in low Earth orbit. More so, the companies said the Orbital Reef will run a “mixed use business park” in space. The park will be ready within the decade..
Blue Origin and Sierra Space announced on Tuesday plans for Orbital Reef, a “commercially developed, owned, and operated space station” to be built in low Earth orbit. The station will start operating in the second half of this decade.
The companies said the Orbital Reef will be operated as a “mixed use business park” in space. With shared infrastructure that efficiently supports the proprietary needs of diverse tenants and visitors, and will feature a human-centered space architecture with world-class services and amenities that is inspiring, practical, and safe.
“The station will open the next chapter of human space exploration and development by facilitating the growth of a vibrant ecosystem and business model for the future,” the companies said.
But I have one question: who will collect the tax in Orbital Reef since I am not sure the US or Nigeria will claim jurisdictional control for tax purposes in space?. In other words, if Jeff Bezos (Amazon founder) finishes this thing and decides to move Amazon headquarters to space, what happens to Amazon corporate tax?
Tax attorneys, provide guidance please.
Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 16 (Feb 10 – May 3, 2025) opens registrations; register today for early bird discounts.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations here.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and invest in Africa’s finest startups here.
Orbital Reef: Blue Origin Announces Plan to Build A Space Station
A nice comment on LinkedIn, by an expert, sharing below
A number of international conventions readily come to mind here. There is the international law principle of Common Heritage of Mankind to the effect that some territories, including space, are for all mankind and cannot be claimed by a nation or entity.
There is the Outer Space Treaty which came to force in January, 1967. It contains a whole lot of interesting provisions, e.g. that space shall be freely used and exploited by all nations; that no nation shall claim sovereignty over any part of the outer space or celestial bodies; states are responsible for their own activities and those of entities originating from such states. In that case, the country of origin of a space dwelling/ trading company takes responsibility, including tax regulations– my submission.
There is also the Declaration on Future Generations which, amongst others, emphasises the preservation of the common heritage of Mankind as well as the interest of Future Generations.
You may also wish to avert your mind to the issue of Mining of Celestial Bodies.
The US has enacted the Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act in 2015. This gives US citizens and companies the right to explore and exploit space resources but no sovereignty rights granted. Pause.
---
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA (Feb 10 - May 3, 2025), and join Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe and our global faculty; click here.
The space citizens will soon create political parties, they may create their own passport too.
While some are still negotiating climate change deals, guys have created a new abode up there, they will soon leave the rest of us with our squabbles behind.