Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014

188 Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014

stone quarries, clay and sand pits, chemical and fer-

tilizer mineral deposits, and deposits of salt, quartz,

gypsum, natural gem stones, asphalt, bitumen, and

peat). Mine shaft s, wells, and other subsoil extraction

facilities are fi xed assets in the form of other structures

(61113) rather than subsoil assets.

7.98 Th e value of the resources is usually estimated

as the present value of the expected net returns re-

sulting from their commercial exploitation, but if the

ownership of subsoil assets changes frequently on

markets, then it may be possible to obtain appropri-

ate prices. In practice, it may be necessary to use the

valuations that the owners of the assets place on them

in their own accounts.

7.99 It is frequently the case that the enterprise

extracting a resource is diff erent from the owner of

the resource. In many countries, for example, oil re-

sources are the property of government. However, it

is the extractor who determines how fast the resource

will be depleted, and since the resource is not renew-

able on a human time scale, it appears as if there has

been a change of economic ownership to the extractor

even if this is not the legal position. Nor is it necessar-

ily the case that the extractor will have the right to ex-

tract until the resource is exhausted. Because there is

no wholly satisfactory way in which to show the value

of the asset split between the legal owner and the ex-

tractor, the whole of the resource is shown on the bal-

ance sheet of the legal owner and the payments by the

extractor to the owner shown as rent. (Th is treatment

is, therefore, an extension of the concept of a resource

lease applied in this case to a depletable asset, as de-

scribed in paragraphs 5.130 and A4.16 –A4.17.)^23

Other naturally occurring assets (6143)

7.100 Other naturally occurring assets (6143) com-

prise noncultivated biological resources (61431), water

resources (61432), and other natural resources (61433),

as shown in Table 7.7.

7.101 Noncultivated biological resources (61431)

consist of animals, birds, fi sh, and plants that yield

both once-only and repeat products over which

ownership rights are enforced but for which natural

growth or regeneration is not under the direct control,

responsibility, and management of any institutional

(^23) See Appendix 4, Box A4.1, for a description of the criteria to
distinguish between rent and asset sales of natural resources.
units. Examples are virgin forests and fi sheries that
are commercially exploitable. Only those resources
that have economic value that is not included in the
value of the associated land are included. As observed
prices are not likely to be available, such assets are
usually valued at the present value of expected future

returns (see paragraph 7.33).

7.102 Water resources (61432) consist of surface

and groundwater resources used for extraction to the

extent that their scarcity leads to the enforcement of

ownership or use rights, market valuation, and some

measure of economic control. As observed prices are

not likely to be available, such assets are usually val-

ued at the present value of expected future returns.

7.103 Th e category other natural resources (61433)

includes the electromagnetic spectrum, which in-

cludes the range of radio frequencies used in the

transmission of sound, data, and television. Th e value

of the spectrum is usually determined as the present

value of expected future returns. If a long-term con-

tract to use the spectrum exists, its value could be

used as a basis for estimating the total value of the

asset. Given the tendency to implement environmen-

tal policy by means of market instruments, it may

be that additional natural resources will come to be

recognized as economic assets. (See also paragraphs

A4.18–A4.40 and A4.48–A4.50 on the treatment of

permits and licenses to use natural resources.)

Intangible nonproduced assets (6144)

7.104 Intangible nonproduced assets (6144) are

constructs of society evidenced by legal or account-

ing actions. Such assets entitle their owners to engage

in certain specifi c activities or to produce certain spe-

cifi c goods or services and to exclude other units from

doing so except with the permission of the owner. Th e

owners of the assets may be able to earn monopoly

Table 7.7 Classifi cation of Other Naturally

Occurring Assets

6143 Other naturally occurring assets

61431 Noncultivated biological resources

61432 Water resources

61433 Other natural resources

614331 Radio spectrum

614332 Natural resources not elsewhere

classifi ed