Taxation of intangible assets in Hungary

Absztrakt (kivonat)

Intangible property, which adds value to a corporation through the competitive advantages it provides, has become more important in recent years, and thus more valuable to the corporations exploiting it. Many of these corporations are the large multinational corporations that dominate global business today. Because these corporations are made up of affiliates that operate in different jurisdictions all over the world, the international taxation of intangible property has also become increasingly important to the ways in which these corporate groups exploit such property. However, as these corporations seek the most advantageous methods of using intangible property, states seek to ensure that such property, inherently difficult to detect and monitor, is used in a manner that accurately reflects the underlying economics and does not evade taxes. The aim of this thesis is to provide an overview of the Hungarian taxation of intangible property and to compare this tax treatment to supranational legislation of the European Commission and the OECD. As it is extremely difficult to valuate with enough certainty intangible assets, many countries prohibit the capitalization of certain self-developed intangible assets. According to these prohibitions, capitalization is only possible if the intangible asset is acquired for consideration, i.e. the value of the intangible has been determined through a transaction in the market. For instance, a self-manufactured goodwill cannot be capitalized; it is only an option if the goodwill is acquired from a third party. On the other hand, if an intangible asset is acquired for a consideration, capitalization is compulsory. This restriction is seen as the application of the principle of prudence, which supposes to prevent the capitalization of assets when there is no certainty about their market price. Only in case of acquisitions it is possible to objectively prove the value of an intangible asset. In Hungary there is a possibility to capitalize intangibles on the balance sheet in the form of capitalized value of formation and reorganization expenses and capitalized value of experimental development. Concerning goodwill, nonpurchased, internally- by the ongoing operation- developed goodwill/negative goodwill cannot be capitalized.