Patent Box as a Tax Relief Tool for Companies Operating in a Circular Economy Context

The patent box is a tool for tax reduction for companies that own trademarks and industrial patents but also apps and software and that allow third parties to exploit the economy. It is therefore an optional scheme that facilitates, by partially discounting them, income from the exploitation of assets, known as “intangible assets.” The aim of this tool is to encourage investment in Research and Development, which, in line with the Recovery and Resilience Plan, will focus on the creation of tools and intangible assets aimed at reducing the environmental impact, both during and at the end of the operating processes of Italian companies. Fiscal Decree 146/2021, linked to budget law 2022, contains important innovations in the field of patent boxes; the rule has established the elimination of the eligibility of know-how as an intangible asset. The considered case study shows the implementation of this innovative tool in a company located in Gela, Sicily, which produces items designed with particular attention to quality, functionality, durability, and aesthetics; these supplies use plastics derived from recycling in the framework of the circular economy. In addition to the significant direct economic advantages deriving from the implementation of patent boxes, there are also several indirect advantages linked to the introduction of R&D projects that allow the production of economically exploitable intangible assets. Actually, this tool allows the inventing company to achieve tax benefits and, through their exploitation by third parties, better efficiency of production processes and reduction of environmental impacts and waste.