Corporate taxes and the location of intellectual property

This seminar discussed the research paper Corporate taxes and the location of intellectual property written by Rachel Griffith, Helen Miller and Martin O'Connell.

In this paper, the authors aim to understand why most intellectual property is held in relatively high tax countries. They evaluate the impact of corporate taxes on where firms hold patents, finding that corporate tax rates have a negative impact on the likelihood of a firm choosing a location, and that there is substantial heterogeneity in responses. They also simulate the impact of recent reforms that apply a lower tax rate to patent income and find that they attract patent income, but result in losses in government revenues. Helen Miller will discuss these findings, as well as their policy implications.

The presentation by Helen Miller was followed by an open roundtable discussion chaired by Bruegel Research fellow Zsolt Darvas.

Event materials

• Corporate taxes and the location of intellectual property, Rachel Griffith, Helen Miller and Martin O'Connell. here
• Helen Miller's presentation here
• Summary of the event here