Your examples aren't good... ;-) If you're mentionin DENIC as a example, it's services are subject to all standard taxes in Germany. Just look on their activity report, there're two numbers - EBT and surplus. Translated and simplified: DENIC pays standard (corporate) taxes. Same thing applies on AFNIC. Domains are taxed like a service. And domain fees are main income of mentioned organisations. Pure membership fees make up an insignificant part of their income in terms of total turnover. Sure, you can separate memberships fees from payments for services even in RIPE. Switch everything (not only ASN, but also IPv4 and IPv6) to service. But at that point it becomes subject of corporate taxes in the country where the organization is domiciled. It is not uncommon for a non-profit organization to create a "secondary" economic activity from which it finances its main activities. But such activity has no exempts from taxes. And if we try to lie to the Dutch tax authorities that the tiered model based on IPv4 consumption isn't services, they will probably stumble. Of course, every country wants to improve its budget. So in fact the rest of the RIPE service region will contribute to the Dutch goverment budget. Sure, DENIC & AFNIC are mostly "national" institutions (so national taxes linked to services aren't issue for them) by their nature - but this also isn't case of RIPE, which is primarily international. - Daniel On 5/31/25 1:54 PM, Denys Fedoryshchenko wrote:
Daniel,
The obstacles you list do more than complicate a tiered-fee discussion—they question the wisdom of keeping the RIPE NCC incorporated in the Netherlands at all:
Physical access – Visa barriers exclude members from GM participation.
Geopolitical neutrality – The host state has used armed force against several member economies.
Sanctions exposure – EU measures already restrict Russian, Iranian, Syrian and other members.
Tax rigidity – Dutch rules are cited as blocking a usage-based charging model adopted by every other RIR.
If the legal and fiscal climate in the Netherlands cannot accommodate a cost-causation fee structure, we should assess jurisdictions that can. Comparable non-profit registries in Germany (DENIC), France (AFNIC), the UK (Nominet) and Canada (CIRA) all combine member-governed models with per-resource charging—without losing tax-exempt status.
Maybe we should expect action: launch a formal study on relocating the RIPE NCC to a legally neutral venue that: - Allows tiered/usage-based fees under clear non-profit rules. - Offers visa-light access for all members. - Minimises sanctions entanglements. - Preserves the community’s oversight and surplus-reinvestment principles.
Continuing with a flat-fee model in a restrictive jurisdiction leaves a growing share of the membership disenfranchised and subsidising the heaviest resource users. Let us evaluate relocation now, before governance credibility erodes further.
P.S. All four operate under EU or OECD tax codes, none lose their non- profit status (or equivalent), and each successfully allocates cost in proportion to resource usage.
Nominet UK (Private company limited by guarantee—surpluses reinvested for public benefit (no shareholders, no dividends) £ 58.6 m (£41.1 m registry, £15.3 m cyber-security, £2.2 m investment income) Membership fee: £400 + VAT one-off joining £100 + VAT annual renewal (prorated £50 if joining after 1 Feb) Other fees: - Domain Availability Checker: £25 / yr - Searchable WHOIS: £400 / yr - Domain Lock: £90 per name / yr - Wholesale registry fee: £3.90 per .uk-year
CIRA (Canada) (Incorporated as a not-for-profit organisation under Canadian federal law. ) C$ 34.3 m total revenue (C$ 29.6 m domain-registry; C$ 4.7 m cyber- security & other) Membership fee: NONE Other fees: - Wholesale registry fee
DENIC eG (.de) (Private, not-for-profit co-operative (~300 member companies)) € 51.3 m total income; gross earnings € 15.9 m; annual surplus € 0.04 m Membership fee: €595 processing (DE) / €500 (non-DE) €1 000 admission (one-off) €1 500 capital share per unit (min 1, max 3). No published recurring dues; the share remains on the books while a member. Other fees: - Wholesale registry fee - Training, escrow, etc. charged separately.
AFNIC (.fr) (Non-profit association governed by French law. ) € 22.0 m turnover (of which € 20.45 m from .fr) Annual dues by college (calendar year): - Companies & Registrars: €190 - Individuals: €50 - Students: €20 Other fees: - Registrar accreditation: €500 / yr - Create / renew / transfer / restore: €4.56 per domain-year (2024 tariff).