The Evaluation of tax havens, the preferantial tax regimes and the harmful tax competition in terms of OECD countries and Turkey

IV ABSTRACT THE EVALUATION OF TAX HAVENS, THE PREFERENTIAL TAX REGIMES AND THE HARMFUL TAX COMPETITION IN TERMS OF OECD COUNTRIES AND TURKEY Şennur HOŞYUMRUK Finance Department Anadolu University Institute of Social Sciences April, 2003 Adviser: Prof. Dr. Fethi HEPER The objective of this study is to investigate the tax havens, the preferential tax regimes and the harmful tax competition which have highly gotten the interest of the world and especially the agenda of the OECD, however, which have not been totally considered significant in the Turkey. The concept of tax haven, in general, meanssome countries where there is no tax or the tax rates are in their zero level and close to zero in some others. Such countries are small islands states having limited agricultural lands and physical investment areas, thus they have no alternative income sources. Countries requiring foreing capital in achieving their development began utilizing taxes as a means and changed the stream of tha capitals and investments negatively. For this reason, these countries caused preferantial tax regimes along with harmful tax competition realities which have covered the world agenda for a long time. The preferential tax regimes are tax practices which have been carried out both in tax haven and many developed countries because they introduce advantages tax free benefits to foreing investors. As for the harmful tax competition, it is the concequence of the practices of the tax havens and the preferantial tax regimes.The straggle against harmful tax competition has first been initiated by OECD in 1996 and mutinational organizations such as United Nations, G-8, Europen Community and Financial Action Task Force have supported this as well. The combat against this issue has still been countinued. «35SSS5Ö