Who can tax a satellite?

[mmotyka at lsil.com]

> 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.''
>
I suppose, as with any racket, whoever has the ability to knock the
satellites down or render them inoperable could levy a "tax" on them.