As President Donald Trump's tariffs make waves in the world economy, multinational companies are mulling what it could mean for their intangible assets like intellectual property and brand recognition.
The vast majority of corporate value comes from intangibles. In 2020, such assets made up 90% of the value of the S&P 500, according to an often-cited study by IP consultant Ocean Tomo—up from up from just 17% in 1975.
Tariffs don’t directly levy fees on intangibles, but their value is often embedded into imported products, raising the tariffed price. These intangible assets can also come with a smorgasbord of options for companies to locate IP in countries to best blunt the impacts of tariffs or reduce taxes on their business.
On this episode of Talking Tax, Grant Thornton principal Glen Marku talked with reporter Caleb Harshberger about what companies' intangible assets could mean for their tariffs exposure and whether they need to rethink their tax planning.
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