The History of Intellectual Property Taxation: Promoting Innovation and Other Intellectual Property Goals?

Abstract

This article traces the historic development of specific tax rules governing intangible intellectual property rights. Before the enactment of specific tax rules governing intellectual property, considerable diversity of opinion among the courts existed over the application of traditional tax principles to intellectual property transactions. This article identifies several causes for the early dissonance between the intellectual property regime and general tax principles. The article then examines the legislative response, analyzing tax rules specific to intellectual in terms of their legislative purpose and identifying common goals behind these special provisions. While concluding that many of these special tax rules helped achieve harmonization between the intellectual property and taxation regimes, the article identifies existing areas of dissonance in the intersection of intellectual property and taxation.

Keywords: history, historic, tax, taxation, intangible, intellectual property, innovation, patents, copyrights, trademarks, property