On Thursday, June 25, The Ministry of Finance entered the first bill of transitory measures as part of the “Emergency Plan for Economic and Employment reactivation”.
According to the message from President Piñera to Congress, “it is proposed to extend the instant depreciation of 100% for investments made throughout the country, until December 31, 2022. Additionally, an instant amortization regime is incorporated regarding certain intangible assets that are protected in accordance with the law, namely industrial property, copyrights, and new plant varieties, thus recognizing the various forms of investment and technological development that account for an increasingly digitized economy.”
The project itself is essentially of transitory regulations, however, the interesting thing is that by expanding the tax benefits that have historically been granted to those who carry out traditional commercial activities (based on investment in fixed and tangible assets) to those who carry out their commercial activity based on intangibles, we are seeing signs that our legislation is beginning to recognize the importance of these assets to promote the development of the country, which is very positive news.
If enacted, this law will benefit both natural persons and legal entities, allowing them to deduct from taxes, via full and instantaneous depreciation, the rights established in Law No. 19.039 “Industrial Property Law”, which includes trademarks, invention patents, models utility and industrial drawings and designs, among others. Likewise, Law Nº 17.336 “Intellectual Property Law” is also included, under which copyright and related rights are protected over works such as books, musical compositions, cinematographic works, computer programs, photographs, among others. Finally, it also includes the rights on protected plant varieties, established in Law No. 19.342 that “Regulates the Rights of Breeders of New Plant Varieties”.
At Creativelaw we are closely following the development of this bill in order to prepare the corresponding strategies with each of our clients.
