The Proliferation Of Patent Boxes

Patent box is the catchy shorthand label that has been given to the tax incentive programs for intellectual property assets that have recently sprung up all over the world. While it may be descriptive of the British system (i.e., election into the tax program requires the ticking of a box on their tax form, and their tax incentives apply only to patent and patent associated intellectual property), it is hardly descriptive of most tax regimes in other nations. Only three nations limit their tax incentives to profits derived from patents and patent related assets: the United Kingdom, France and Belgium. See , European Commission Taxation Papers, Working Paper N. 57 “Patent Boxes Design, Patents Location and Local R&D” (2015) Tables 1&2.