Does the Convention permit the International Seabed Authority to exercise direct global taxing power?
A. No, the ISA has no authority to levy taxes. The Convention does contemplate the elaboration of rules for payments of royalties to the ISA from revenues generated from deep seabed mining. Under the Convention’s rules, such royalty payments would be used to cover the ISA’s expenses. (Section 7 of the Annex to the 1994 Agreement Implementing the Convention’s deep seabed mining provisions). Should any surplus revenues be generated, they could be used in certain cases to provide economic assistance to developing countries. The United States has veto power over any decisions about distribution of royalty proceeds. (Convention Article 161(8)(d); Section 3(7) of the Annex to the 1994 Agreement Implementing the Convention’s deep seabed mining provisions).
