"Corporate tax reform III" (in French)

The fourth issue of TAXeNEWS from June 13, 2013 dealt with a Swiss license box. Now the British patent box model, introduced on April 1, 2013, which taxes income from intellectual property at 10%, is analyzed. Companies qualify if they own intellectual property rights or hold exclusive licenses and have carried out their own development activities. Qualifying IP rights include patents, protection certificates and certain drug approvals, but not trademarks. The patent box includes income from product sales, license income, profits from the sale of IP rights, damages for IP infringements and other income. The tax-preferred profit is calculated in three steps: Apportionment of income, deduction of a "routine return" of 10% and deduction of a "marketing asset return". A transfer of the British model to Switzerland could be made more attractive through a broader definition of IP rights and lower routine returns.

Topics in the publication

• Patent box systems
• Requirements and qualifications
• Types of qualifying intellectual property rights
• Income categories
• Calculation of the tax-preferred profit
• Adaptation of the patent box to Switzerland
• International developments and acceptance