In today’s creative,
developing and “digitalised” world, Intellectual Property (IP) can be the most
important or even the sole asset of a business, even of multinational
organisations.
Cyprus has proven to
be an ideal jurisdiction for technology companies and other organisations which
own patents, trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights in literary and artistic
works, computer software, and other inventions for the establishment of their
IP Structures. The 12.5% Corporation Tax rate, the special IP Regime granting
80% exemption under certain conditions, the EU Interest & Royalty Directive
and the plethora of Double Tax Treaties (DTTs) with very beneficial terms, are
all contributing to the increase in popularity of the country as an ideal
location to hold and manage IP.
We examine in some
detail below, only a few of the aspects related to choosing Cyprus for holding and managing IP.
1. IP Regime
The IP Regime of
Cyprus is fully compliant with international developments in the tax treatment
of IP income and OECD’s guidance and it is fully compatible with EU standards.
As the Cyprus IP
regime, 80% of the qualifying profits generated from the qualifying assets is
deemed to be a tax deductible expense for qualifying taxpayers. In calculating
the qualifying profits, the new regime adopts the ‘Nexus’ approach. According
to this approach, the level of the qualifying profits is positively correlated
to the extent the claimant performs R&D activities to develop the
qualifying asset within the same company.
Qualifying Assets
The following are considered as Qualifying Assets (QAs):
• patents,
• copyrighted software programs, and
• other intangible assets that are non-obvious, useful and novel.
Trademarks and copyrights are not considered as QAs.
Qualifying Persons
Qualifying Persons (QPs) include Cyprus tax residents, Permanent
Establishments (PEs) of foreign entities, which are tax residents of Cyprus,
and foreign PEs which are subject to tax in Cyprus.
Qualifying Profits
Qualifying Profits are calculated in accordance with the nexus fraction
that follows:
OI
x QE + UE
OE
OI: overall income derived from the QA
QE: qualifying expenditure on the QA
UE: uplift expenditure on the QA
OE: overall expenditure on the QA
Overall Income
The Overall Income (OI) is calculated as the gross income
less any direct expenditure (including capital allowances - amortisation). So,
in effect it is the gross profit from use of the asset. Overall income
includes, but is not limited to, royalties received for the use of a QA,
trading income from the disposal of such an asset and embedded income earned
from the asset.
Capital gains arising from the disposal of a QA are not
included in the overall income and are fully exempt from tax.
Qualifying Expenditure
The Qualifying Expenditure (QE) includes salary and wages,
direct costs, general expenses associated with R&D activities and R&D
expenditure outsourced to unrelated parties. The QE does not include any
acquisition costs of the QA, interest expenses, any amounts payable to related
persons carrying out R&D and costs which are not directly associated with the
specific asset.
Uplift Expenditure
The Up-lift Expenditure (UE) is the lower of:
• 30% of QE; and
• The total acquisition cost of the QA and any R&D
costs outsourced to related parties.
Overall Expenditure
The overall expenditure (OE) is the sum of:
• QE; and
• The total acquisition costs of the QA and any R&D
costs outsourced to related parties incurred in any tax year.
Nexus Fraction
The calculation requires that QE includes all qualifying
expenditures incurred by the taxpayer over the life of the IP asset and that OE
includes all overall expenditures incurred over the life of the IP asset.
2. Not
qualifying for the IP Regime
But even in cases where a company cannot benefit from the
tax benefits of the IP regime (for example because the IP is not a Qualifying,
significant R&D work is assigned to related parties, etc.), it can still
achieve low effective taxation due to the following tax incentives:
Capital allowances
All intangible assets (excluding goodwill), irrespective of
whether they are qualifying assets or not, are eligible for amortisation for
tax purposes, known as capital allowance, over their useful economic life with
a maximum of 20 years. The taxpayer has the option not to claim capital
allowances in a specific year. In addition, capital allowances not claimed in a
year are claimed over the remaining useful life of the asset.
Notional Interest Deduction
Notional Interest Deduction (NID), is a deduction for tax purposes (hence the term “notional”) available on assets introduced in a Cyprus company financed through equity which are employed in the production of taxable income. So, it is also available to companies employing IP assets in the production of taxable revenue (e.g. royalties), which have been funded out of new equity financing. The NID cannot exceed 80% of the taxable profit generated from the IP assets and can potentially reduce the effective tax rate to as low as 2.5%. For more information on NID please refer to our related newsfeeds.
Increased tax deduction for R&D expenses
Expenses for scientific research and those for research and
development, as recognized on the basis of the international accounting
standards, will qualify for an increased allowance of 20% for tax purposes,
thus giving a 120% total deduction from taxable income. The increased deduction
will also apply on expenditure of a capital nature, for which capital
allowances will be claimed and will be applicable during the years 2022, 2023
and 2024. For more information you can refer to our related newsfeed.
3.
Embedded Income and Other Considerations
In cases where the income earned by a company from the sale
of goods, provision of services or use of any processes is directly related to QAs,
such income may include an element of embedded income, connected with the right
to use of the IP. In order to claim a tax exemption on that element, a Transfer
Pricing (TP) study in accordance with the OECD TP guidelines must be prepared.
A company is required to keep track of the relevant income
and expenditure per QA so that it can calculate the Qualifying Profits. Furthermore,
it is vital for any expenditure incurred for R&D or associated activities to
be explicitly identified.
