The Taxation of Transmission Lines and Facilities: A History of Unexpected Regulatory Changes and Unstable Jurisprudence

Abstract

AbstractThe issue concerning the property used to transmit electricity illustrates the unstable and largely unpredictable approach of Polish legislators and administrative courts to the real estate tax on energy infrastructure. Over the last quarter of a century, the situation has changed dramatically—from the tax exemption of transmission lines to their taxation and, finally (according to the latest position of the Supreme Administrative Court), to the taxation of the entire power grid with its associated equipment, such as transformers. The only positive gesture that legislators have made towards transmission operators are the changes described in this chapter concerning the taxation of the land under transmission lines. The surprising broadening of the scope for real estate taxation that we have described applies equally to conventional and renewable energy since both these branches use the transmission infrastructure equally. For conventional power generation, the backbone of the transmission network is, in principle, already in place, but it requires major upgrades over the coming years. For renewable energy sources, however, the creation of completely new sections of transmission lines is necessary to receive the electricity generated from power plants and distribute it around the country. In both cases, investments will increase the real estate tax base. Each extension to the definition of ‘structures’ in order to include the technical equipment connected to the power grid significantly increases grid maintenance costs.KeywordsTransmission linesTransformer stationsTransformers