Intellectual property (IP), and the correct approach to taxing it, is in the global spotlight, especially because of the OECD's Working Party No No 6 project on the transfer pricing aspects of intangibles. While taxpayers want specific guidelines, to provide certainty, revenue authorities would prefer principles so they don't lose out on potential revenue. Both want to see a variety and abundance of practical examples, however, which will act as a clear guide and help to bridge the language gaps that contribute to misinterpretation.
In this guide to IP and its interaction with transfer pricing, leading advisers from a number of jurisdictions, discuss the latest issues to impact taxpayers and, in separate interviews, Michelle Levac, the chairwoman of the OECD's intangibles project, and Paul Morton, the head of tax for Reed Elsevier, describe how they approach this difficult area.
Eric Warson and Koen Van Ende, of KPMG, go through the tax opportunities that Belgium has to offer when it comes to R&D.
Oliver Wehnert and Jakob Frotscher of Ernst & Young provide an outline of the major challenges in the identification and valuation of intangible assets in Germany.
Considering that IBM's 2010 Global Locations Trends report ranked Ireland 1st for global inward investment per capita, Conor O'Sullivan of KPMG describes the factors that make it competitive to exploit IP in Ireland.
While each country's IP regime has its own provisions, which may not necessarily fit the unique business model under which a group operates, Alina Macovei, and Guy van der Heyden, of PwC, examine Luxembourg and its opportunities for the management and development of IP.
Aneta Blazejewska-Gaczynska and Slawomir Buszko of Ernst & Young describe the practical issues when placing value on the transfer of intangible assets in Poland.
Fedor Blinov, Alexey Korabelnikov and Igor Nevzorov of Ernst & Young describe some related changes to IP regulations in Russia, considering the country's accession to the WTO at the end of 2011.
In Turkey, Güler Hülya Yilmaz of Deloitte, explains the difficulties involved in the definition of intangible property in a country where transfer pricing legislation is relatively new.
And, David Cordova, Arin Mitra, Andrew Newman, Keith Reams, Larry Shanda, and Alan Shapiro of Deloitte in the US explain how taxpayers can navigate new obstacles in IP planning.
We hope you find the articles in this International Tax Review supplement useful when navigating the changing environment of intellectual property.
Sophie Ashley,
Editor, TPWeek.com
