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Corporate taxation and location of intangible assets: Patents vs. trademarks

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  • Dudar, Olena
  • Voget, Johannes

Abstract

Numerous empirical studies have analysed the influence of corporate taxation on the location of intangible assets within a company group. However, the previous literature has rather focused on studying the impact of taxation on patent location choices assuming that these assets represent the rest of intangibles as well. This paper complements previous studies by estimating and comparing the tax elasticities of two different types of intangibles - patents and trademarks. We employ data on European and US patent and trademark applications in the period of 1996-2012 and estimate a multinomial logit model that incorporates various observed and unobserved factors of the intangible's location choice. According to our main findings, trademarks are more sensitive to changes in taxation as compared to patents. This implies that firms use trademarks more eagerly for tax planning purposes than patents.

Suggested Citation

  • Dudar, Olena & Voget, Johannes, 2016. "Corporate taxation and location of intangible assets: Patents vs. trademarks," ZEW Discussion Papers 16-015, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:16015
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bradley, Sebastien & Robinson, Leslie & Ruf, Martin, 2021. "The impact of IP box regimes on the M&A market," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(2).
    2. Dominika Langenmayr & Franz Reiter, 2022. "Trading offshore: evidence on banks’ tax avoidance," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 124(3), pages 797-837, July.
    3. Pranvera Shehaj & Alfons J. Weichenrieder, 2024. "Corporate income tax, IP boxes and the location of R&D," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 31(1), pages 203-242, February.
    4. Nouf Binhadab & Robert Gillanders & Thomas McCluskey, 2023. "A clean and discreet service: The role of corruption and secrecy in profit shifting by multinational firms," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(7), pages 1551-1573, October.
    5. Sebastian Beer & Ruud de Mooij & Li Liu, 2020. "International Corporate Tax Avoidance: A Review Of The Channels, Magnitudes, And Blind Spots," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(3), pages 660-688, July.
    6. Ciaramella, Laurie, 2023. "Taxation and the transfer of patents: Evidence from Europe," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    7. Martina Baumann & Tobias Boehm & Bodo Knoll & Nadine Riedel, 2020. "Corporate Taxes, Patent Shifting, and Anti-avoidance Rules: Empirical Evidence," Public Finance Review, , vol. 48(4), pages 467-504, July.
    8. Bodo Knoll & Nadine Riedel, 2020. "Patent Shifing and Anti-Tax Avoidance Legislation," ifo DICE Report, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 17(04), pages 25-29, January.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    intangible assets; patent; trademark; tax planning; corporate taxation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H25 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Business Taxes and Subsidies
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • H26 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Tax Evasion and Avoidance
    • H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents

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