On 3 February 2021, Turkey has published Law No. 7263 in the Official Gazette on an amendment to the Law on Technology Development Zones and some other Laws. The Law is effective from the day of its publication. The main amendments of the Law are as follows:
- The period of benefiting from support and incentives has been extended until 31 December 2028;
- As of 1 January 2022, taxpayers with an exempted earning amount of TRL 1 million and above on the annual return will monitor 2% of the amount subject to the exception in a temporary account in passive and within the scope of this law until the end of the year in which this account was created. Transfer to entrepreneur companies with one of the determining methods (the upper limit is determined as TRL 20 million on an annual basis). It has been stated that if the investment is not made, 20% of the earning amount in the relevant year will be subject to taxation;
- Income tax calculated on the wages of R&D, design, and support personnel employed in companies located in Technology Development Zones is canceled by deducting from the tax accrued on the withholding tax return to be filed;
- The condition of working for “at least one year” in the region has been abolished in order for the personnel studying for post-graduate and doctorate degrees to benefit from the income tax withholding incentive within the scope of their time spent outside;
- There is a provision that the time spent by the personnel outside the Zone, provided that they do not exceed 20% of the total working time subject to income tax withholding incentive in the enterprises located in the Zone, will be evaluated within the scope of the income tax withholding incentive. This rate can be increased up to 50% by the President;
- For Regional companies with a total number of employees up to 15, the number of support personnel who can benefit from support and incentives is determined as a maximum of 20% of the total number of personnel (previously the general rate was 10%).
