Intellectual property rights account for a growing share of a firm’s assets. It is more mobile than other forms of capital and could be used by firms to shift income offshore and to reduce their corporate income tax liability. We consider how influential corporate income taxes are in determining where firms choose to legally own intellectual property. We estimate a mixed (or random coefficients) logit model that incorporates important observed and unobserved heterogeneity in firms’ location choices. We obtain estimates of the full set of location specific tax elasticities and conduct an ex-ante analysis of how the location of ownership of intellectual property rights will respond to changes in tax policy. We find that recent reforms that give preferential tax treatment to income arising from IP patents are likely to have significant effects on the location of ownership of new intellectual property, and could lead to substantial reductions in tax revenue.

Amounts received by individuals who create intellectual property may be royalties or compensation, depending on whether they own and license the property or create it for an employer. Royalties may be either business or nonbusiness income.

Individuals in the trade or business of creating intellectual property may deduct ordinary and necessary business costs, and some are exempt from the uniform capitalization rules for the property.

Whether a transfer of intellectual property is a sale or a license of the property depends on whether all rights to the property have been transferred. A transfer treated as a sale generally gives rise to a capital gain or loss, and as a license to ordinary income.

The terms of a bequest or gift of intellectual property rights likewise control whether all substantial property rights have been transferred. This determines how the bequest or gift is treated for tax purposes.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Intellectual Property Rights 

The concept of intellectual property is not an entirely new one, but it has become increasingly more important as the economy worldwide has begun to shift into what is known as an information economy. This shift has started to change what is considered valuable in private exchange. Instead of physical objects, or land, the most important form of property in this new world is intellectual, the creative products of the human mind.

Advantages of Using Intellectual Property for Tax Optimization Purposes

Copyrights, patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights in terms of tax planning can become an effective instrument against other goods and services. The main advantage is that IP price cannot be established on the basis of any uniform rules and there are no restrictions on the parties to freely set the price of such property. The intellectual property rights do not consist of physical assets and can be easily moved between different tax systems and jurisdictions. This is why the use of intellectual property rights is a very convenient way to legally reduce the tax burden and withdrawal of capital to a safer jurisdiction.

In order to create an effective business model and significantly optimize taxation, it is crucial to choose the appropriate scenario that fits your particular case.  Please seek the advice of professionals to evaluate your specific needs and appropriate royalty routing structure.

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