On 17 April 2018, the Bill on a new IP regime adopted was by the parliament. This will enter into force with retroactive effect as from 1 January 2018.
The IP regime introduces a new article 50 ter into the Income Tax Law (ITL) that provides for an 80 percent exemption on income derived from the commercialization of certain intellectual property (IP) rights, as well as a 100 percent exemption from net wealth tax (NWT).
The new regime is also fully consistent with all recommendations made by the OECD’s Forum on Harmful Tax Practices, including those set out in the OECD/G20 BEPS Project Action 5 Final Report published in October 2015, including a nexus approach so that only activities with sufficient substance can qualify for the tax relief. The IP covered by the regime includes inventions protected under patents, utility models and other IP rights equivalent to patents; or software protected by copyright. Market related IP such as trademarks would not be eligible.
