Although the details vary from country to country, a widely used rule-of-thumb says that a lease does not have to be capitalised so long as the net present value of the lease liabilities (ie, future rents) amounts to less than 90% of the value of the asset.

ECONOMIST: Commercial property

Or they will insist on shorter lease terms, which will help keep the capitalised value of the lease smaller.

ECONOMIST: Commercial property

Bad, if you are concerned about a balance sheet that depends on the value of cars coming off lease.

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Customers will have to pay sales tax on the full value of the car, instead of just the lease payments.

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The tax hit, the company reportedly said, would be the equivalent of the total value of its seven-year lease on its Townsend Street headquarters.

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McCourt wants to sell the future local television deal that would begin with the 2014 season because it would increase the value of the sale of the team, Dodger Stadium and lease to the surrounding parking lots.

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Second, the lease lowers the value of the business (because it is a liability), making it easier for successor owners to afford to buy out your interest in the business.

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However, depending on your type of lease, when your lease term is up, you either hand the keys over to the car dealership and look for another vehicle, or finance the remaining value of the vehicle and go from making lease payments to loan payments.

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We demand that IKEA ensure the protection of the remaining forests with high conservation value on the lands they lease.

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"There is exposure that could not have been foreseen, " insists Raj Sundaram, president of Automotive Lease Guide, the industry's resale value bible.

FORBES: Magazine Article