Taxing the Intangible: overview of global approaches and a review of recent policy changes in the UK

This paper examines the current approaches to taxation of intangibles in three different jurisdictions: Australia, the US and the UK, with a primary focus on the UK. The first part of the paper outlines the economic impact of various intangible assets. It then outlines the accounting issues related to intangibles as a foundation to an overview of the current tax treatment of intangible assets and goodwill in the three jurisdictions largely built on these accounting principles. The paper then focuses on the recent changes to UK legislation for taxing intellectual property, goodwill and other intangibles. The paper illustrates that, whilst these changes were important, they by no means go as far as they may have gone, given existing knowledge in the area and even the apparent desires of the policy makers in proposing the tax reform in this area. It however, illustrates a promising trend in the process of tax reform debate.