Taxation and the transfer of patents: Evidence from Europe

Laurie Ciaramella

European Economic Review, 2023, vol. 151, issue C

Abstract: I study how taxes affect firms’ incentives to shift the location of intangible assets. Using firm-level data on patent reassignments, I exploit variations in statutory tax rates and the introduction of “patent box” policies as shocks modifying incentives to transfer patents across countries. The results suggest a large impact of taxes on asset shifting between affiliates, increasing with expected patent income, and driven by very large firms. Patent boxes are persistently associated with more incoming and less outgoing patent relocations between affiliates. These findings suggest that taxes provide firms with incentives to shift income via patent relocation, and advocate for considering patent transfer strategies in tax policy.

Keywords: Corporate tax; Patent box; Intellectual property; Patent ownership; Patent transfer; Markets for technology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D22 F23 H32 O34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:151:y:2023:i:c:s0014292122001921

DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2022.104312

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