DEMPE is not complicated – It is simply IP substance

For those who cared then, there was a lot of panic when the first drafts of the OECD BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting) action items were circulated.

The Action Plan had implications that were not limited to taxation and economic development. In later drafts it became more evident that intellectual property would receive extensive attention. Action Items 8 to 10 address the aspects of intangible assets with respect to preventing base erosion and profit shifting.

Ireland's proposed Knowledge Development Box

The 2015 Budget speech by the Irish Minister for Finance mentioned that Ireland is taking steps to develop a "Knowledge Development Box" (KDB). Most people took this as meaning that it would be implemented in 2015. This is not exactly what the minister said.

Blinding flash of light - why people don't "get it"

Why have they not “got it”?

In a post at the end of last year, I wondered why I had got it wrong. I searched for reasons for companies not jumping into IP commercialisation.

However, there is another explanation of why governments, policy makers and even sophisticated companies have not “got it”.

First let me set the scene:




Often I have quoted the Ned Davis Research that found that in 1975, 16.8% of the market value of the S&P 500 companies was attributable to intangible assets. By 2005, the ratio had grown to 79.7%. This is an impressive change in economic structure over a relatively short period.

But the story does not stop there.