Valuing intangible assets: Newark and beyond

A controversial topic in US courts has been the tax treatment of purchased intangible assets, which affects the market value of many agribusinesses. The Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that intangible assets, such as sales forces, customer lists, patents, etc., were depreciable if there were reasonable methods for determining the economic life and value of those assets. This article outlines and evaluates some alternative procedures for analyzing economic life and value. In addition, the impact of recent changes in applicable tax law is considered, © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.