Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said that efforts are being made around the world to collect minimum corporate tax from multinational companies.
Şimşek made an assessment to the AA correspondent regarding the minimum corporate tax application for which preparations are being made.
Pointing out that the minimum corporate tax is on the agenda of all countries, Şimşek said that countries that do not enact the minimum corporate tax will leave the right to tax to other countries.
Şimşek pointed out that approximately 140 countries around the world agreed on the global minimum corporate tax within the scope of the OECD’s organization in 2021 and said, “With the consensus decision taken, it was envisaged that the branches, subsidiaries and workplaces of multinational companies whose annual consolidated revenue exceeded the threshold of 750 million euros in low-tax countries would be subject to a minimum 15 percent corporate tax. In this context, more than 30 countries, especially the European Union (EU) countries, have enacted the minimum corporate tax application to be applied to 2024 earnings.”
Stating that legalization efforts are ongoing in other countries, Şimşek gave the following information about the details of the application:
“If the corporate tax burden paid by multinational companies in the country where they operate is lower than 15 percent, countries that have enacted the minimum corporate tax will be able to collect the difference in tax that the relevant country does not collect. The right to tax the difference is primarily in the country where the company operates. If there is no minimum corporate tax in this country, the country where the company is headquartered can collect this tax. If there is no minimum corporate tax there either, the tax can be collected by the third country where the companies in the same group are located. The model aims to ensure that the earnings of multinational companies bear a 15 percent tax burden in any case.”
“It needs to be implemented in order not to give up the right to taxation”
Şimşek stated that other countries have accelerated their legislative efforts on this issue since the countries that have not adopted the minimum corporate tax practice have transferred their taxation rights to another country and said, “Multinational companies are also operating in our country. It is inevitable to make arrangements to collect minimum corporate tax from multinational companies operating in Turkey. Otherwise, the tax that our country does not take will be taken by another country.”
Emphasizing that minimum corporate tax should be applied in Turkey in order not to give up the right to taxation, Şimşek stated that studies are being carried out to introduce this practice for multinational companies and that the preparations have reached the final stage.
Stating that the number of companies with international capital operating in Turkey is around 80 thousand and that there are 2 thousand 134 enterprises whose main business is abroad, Şimşek said:
“Only 2.5 percent of the multinational companies investing in our country exceed the threshold of 750 million euros, and alternative models are being worked on on how to protect the tax incentives they have earned and how they can be used in different areas. As the Ministry, we are working closely with the Ministry of Industry and Technology to develop alternatives that will continue to encourage investment in our country.”
