Current Tax Developments - Advertising Films

In a decision dated June 5, 1996, the Administrative Supreme Court ruled that, for corporate income tax purposes, the price paid for the acquisition of advertising films should not be treated as fixed assets, but as immediately deductible expenses. For the Court, advertising films are not designed, at the date of their acquisition, to be used for a company's activity over a long period of time. The price paid for their acquisition can therefore be immediately deducted as expenses.

In this ruling, the Court treated advertising films costs in respect with the accounting principles governing the distinction between expenses and fixed assets. Additionally, Mr. Arrighi de Casanova insisted, in his report to the Court, on the fact that advertising films cannot be sold to third parties and could possibly be valued only for the company they concern.