IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ucp/jlstud/v33y2004p199-229.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measurement and Tax Depreciation Policy: The Case of Short-Term Intangibles

Author

Listed:
  • David A. Weisbach

Abstract

Depreciation is difficult and expensive to measure yet central to taxing capital income. This paper focuses on depreciation of intangibles and considers whether measurement resources should be allocated to intangibles with longer lives on the theory that depreciation matters more for long-term than for short-term intangibles. Current law reflects this approach. This paper argues that contrary to this intuition, accuracy in depreciation is more important for short-term than for long-term intangibles. Nevertheless, measurement costs are likely to be higher for short-term than for long-term intangibles, which means that we might expect less accuracy, all else equal, for short-term intangibles, consistent with current law.

Suggested Citation

  • David A. Weisbach, 2004. "Measurement and Tax Depreciation Policy: The Case of Short-Term Intangibles," The Journal of Legal Studies, University of Chicago Press, vol. 33(1), pages 199-229, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:33:y:2004:p:199-229
    DOI: 10.1086/380410
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/380410
    Download Restriction: Access to the online full text or PDF requires a subscription.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1086/380410?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chirinko, Robert S, 1993. "Business Fixed Investment Spending: Modeling Strategies, Empirical Results, and Policy Implications," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 31(4), pages 1875-1911, December.
    2. Hassett, Kevin A. & Hubbard, R. Glenn, 2002. "Tax policy and business investment," Handbook of Public Economics, in: A. J. Auerbach & M. Feldstein (ed.), Handbook of Public Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 20, pages 1293-1343, Elsevier.
    3. Robert S. Chirinko, 1992. "Business Fixed Investment Spending: A Critical survey of Modeling Strategies, Empirical Results, and Policy Implications," Working Papers 9213, Harris School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago.
    4. Mackie, James B. III, 2002. "Unfinished Business of the 1986 Tax Reform Act: An Effective Tax Rate Analysis of Current Issues in theTaxation of Capital Income," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 55(2), pages 293-337, June.
    5. Brazell, David W. & Mackie, James B. III, 2000. "Depreciation Lives and Methods: Current Issues in the U.S. Capital Cost Recovery System," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 53(n. 3), pages 531-62, September.
    6. Don Fullerton & Andrew B. Lyon, 1988. "Tax Neutrality and Intangible Capital," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy: Volume 2, pages 63-88, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Kaplow, Louis, 1994. "Taxation and Risk Taking: A General Equilibrium Perspective," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 47(4), pages 789-98, December.
    8. Kaplow, Louis, 1994. "Taxation and Risk Taking: A General Equilibrium Perspective," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 47(4), pages 789-798, December.
    9. Auerbach, Alan J., 1989. "The deadweight loss from `non-neutral' capital income taxation," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 1-36, October.
    10. Mackie, James B. III, 2002. "Unfinished Business of the 1986 Tax Reform Act: An Effective Tax Rate Analysis of Current Issues in theTaxation of Capital Income," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association, vol. 55(N. 2), pages 293-337, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hines, James R. & Park, Jongsang, 2019. "Investment ramifications of distortionary tax subsidies," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 36-51.
    2. Schaller, Huntley, 2006. "Estimating the long-run user cost elasticity," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 725-736, May.
    3. Siegloch, Sebastian, 2014. "Employment Effects of Local Business Taxes," VfS Annual Conference 2014 (Hamburg): Evidence-based Economic Policy 100325, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    4. Goolsbee, Austan, 2004. "Taxes and the quality of capital," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3-4), pages 519-543, March.
    5. Weyerstraß, Klaus, 2003. "Explaining Investment Trends in European Union Countries," IWH Discussion Papers 174/2003, Halle Institute for Economic Research (IWH).
    6. Stephen Bond & Jing Xing, 2010. "Corporate taxation and capital accumulation," Working Papers 1015, Oxford University Centre for Business Taxation.
    7. Coulibaly Brahima & Millar Jonathan N., 2011. "The "Elusive" Capital-User Cost Elasticity Revisited," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-41, September.
    8. Marina Riem, 2016. "Corporate investment decisions under political uncertainty," ifo Working Paper Series 221, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich.
    9. Timothy Erickson & Toni M. Whited, 2000. "Measurement Error and the Relationship between Investment and q," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(5), pages 1027-1057, October.
    10. Balázs Égert, 2018. "Regulation, Institutions and Aggregate Investment: New Evidence from OECD Countries," Open Economies Review, Springer, vol. 29(2), pages 415-449, April.
    11. Oleksandr Shcherbakov, 2022. "Firm‐level investment under imperfect capital markets in Ukraine," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(1), pages 227-255, February.
    12. Karl Whelan, 2002. "Some New Economy Lessons for Macroeconomists," Recherches économiques de Louvain, De Boeck Université, vol. 68(1), pages 21-36.
    13. Kiley, Michael T., 2001. "Computers and growth with frictions: aggregate and disaggregate evidence," Carnegie-Rochester Conference Series on Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(1), pages 171-215, December.
    14. Giuseppe Cinquegrana, 2014. "Effetti differenziali delle politiche monetarie sugli investimenti delle imprese industriali italiane: un?analisi con metodologia panel," RIVISTA DI ECONOMIA E STATISTICA DEL TERRITORIO, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2014(3), pages 40-78.
    15. Bergman, Mats A. & Johansson, Per & Bergman, M.A., 2002. "Large investments in the pulp and paper industry: a count data regression analysis," Journal of Forest Economics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 29-52.
    16. Chorvat, Terrence, 2006. "Taxing utility," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 35(1), pages 1-16, February.
    17. Verikios, George, 2020. "The dynamic effects of infectious disease outbreaks: the case of pandemic influenza and human coronavirus," MPRA Paper 104434, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Matteo Iacoviello & Fabio Schiantarelli & Scott Schuh, 2011. "Input And Output Inventories In General Equilibrium," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 52(4), pages 1179-1213, November.
    19. Martina Yakova, 2018. "Analysis of the tax systems in the EU countries," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 3, pages 93-112.
    20. Shimano, Norihito, 2017. "The effect of pro-shareholder income distribution on capital accumulation: evidence from Japanese non-financial firms," MPRA Paper 76830, University Library of Munich, Germany.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ucp:jlstud:v:33:y:2004:p:199-229. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Journals Division (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/JLS .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.