Italy has decided to become internationally competitive while also offering to Italian and foreign companies the opportunity to benefit from a tax relief program for income derived, directly or indirectly, resulting in the exploitation of intellectual properties of enterprises.
In particular, the “patent Box” was introduced with the stability law 2015 in Italy. There are similar regimes already adopted in other EU countries however they are under examination by the OECD to verify that they are not harmful tax practices in connection with Action 5 Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)
The Italian parliament approved an elective regime which grants a partial exemption from Corporate income ta (IRES & IRAP) on income derived from qualifying intangible assest i.e. Intellectual property, know-how, patents & trademarks. The exemption will increase gradually from 30% in 2015, 40% in 2016 to 50% in 2017 and beyond. The patent box serves a dual purpose, on one hand, it can reduce taxable base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), and on the other hand, to promote Italian investments by foreign companies.
You can find more information in the whitepaper, which you can download via the form.
