Companies that develop inventions or technical applications and have received a patent for those products can avail themselves of the Patents Box. Since 2007, the Patents Box has offered a 60% discount on the tax rate applicable to profits realized on innovative activities, resulting in an effective rate of 10%.
Various KPMG Meijburg & Co clients have questioned what would happen if they incurred a Patents Box loss rather than a profit in a given year. Our position is that this loss would have to be deductible at the normal rate. We consulted the Dutch Revenue and the Ministry of Finance on this point. We are pleased to be able to report that the Ministry confirmed our position in a decree issued on August 21, 2009. This will provide significant relief to innovative companies, since the decree eliminates the risk that the rules in question will result in a disadvantage if a loss occurs.