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Elke Asen

Elke Asen

Policy Analyst

Elke Asen was a Policy Analyst with the Tax Foundation’s Center for Global Tax Policy, focusing on international tax issues and tax policy in Europe. Prior to joining the Tax Foundation, Elke interned with the EU Delegation in Washington, D.C., the German Development Agency, and a social startup in Munich, Germany. She holds a BS in Economics from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Elke was born and raised in a small town of 500 people outside of Salzburg, Austria, and loves to travel. Road tripping and backpacking are her favorites.

Latest Work

intellectual property IP tax GILTI FDII global minimum tax Biden tax patent boxes impact business, patent boxes, software, intellectual property tax

How Patent Boxes Impact Business Decisions

As with every change in tax policy, there are trade-offs. The Modified Nexus Approach adds an additional layer of complexity to the already complex issue of taxing IP income. Linking tax breaks for IP income to its associated R&D activity has changed the game and will likely result in some businesses restructuring and relocating their IP assets and R&D activity. Effective tax rates on IP income will likely play an important role in determining optimal locations, giving measures such as R&D credits more importance. Whether this new approach to IP taxation will impact profit shifting and which countries will be the winners and losers is yet to be seen.

6 min read
OECD tax revenues 2021 sources of government revenue in the oecd, 2019, government tax revenue corporate tax revenue corporate tax revenues

Sources of Government Revenue in the OECD, 2019 Update

OECD countries have on average become more reliant on consumption taxes and less reliant on individual income taxes. These policy changes matter, considering that consumption-based taxes raise revenue with less economic damage and distortionary effects than taxes on income.

10 min read