Late last year, I posted an entry about a proposal to change the taxation of a specific intangible asset: music rights. According to press report, Washington Post - House Passes $70 Billion Tax Package, that provision is one step closer to becoming law:
At the request of the Nashville music industry, tax writers allowed music companies to write off their musical advances in five years, a $13 million break over the next decade. Songwriters would be able to treat the sale of their creations as capital gains instead of income, a break worth $20 million.
The Senate is expected to pass the bill, in a close vote, later today and send it on to the President.
The argument for the change was fairness, since the taxation of music rights was somewhat different from other assets. So it is unclear whether this will set a precedent for other intangible assets. I doubt it will cause any wholesale reevaluation of the taxing of intangibles. But, we will see.
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