Jill Patterson, VP of tax at SBA Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: SBAC), participated in a video interview in conjunction with Nareit’s REITwise: 2023 Law, Accounting & Finance Conference held March 21-23 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Patterson said that SBA, which owns and operates wireless communications infrastructure, is in some challenging and emerging markets, including Central America, South Africa, and Tanzania, and has had trouble getting good tax advisors as a result.
“Managing through that process and really having these markets understand what industry we’re in and how the tax rules apply to our industry is probably the best advice I can give,” she said.
Patterson added that SBA is keeping its eye on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Pillar Two initiative because they are concerned about the consistency of how the rules will apply across the markets.
Though headquartered in Florida, SBA operates throughout the Americas, Africa, and the Philippines; but Patterson clarified that the company is “only a U.S.-based REIT.”
“We have looked at entering into countries where they have REITs…but the problem is, in a lot of these foreign markets, you have to be listed on the local stock exchange of that country,” she said.