DETERMINANTS OF EFFECTIVE TAX RATES IN TURKEY

This study aims to analyze the determinants of effective tax rates by Turkish public listed companies. It is motivated by the lack of studies on firms’ tax reporting behaviors in Turkey. It focuses on Turkish public listed companies (excluding banking and insurance sectors) between 2007-2016 and data were extracted from the financial statements of firms in respect of the variables. The study establishes the relationship between ETRs and firm specific characteristics of size, leverage, asset mix and profitability. The application of panel data estimation procedures finds that the tax burden is determined by the characteristics of firm size, leverage and capital intensity of each company. The contribution of this paper is two-fold. Firstly, it is the first study in the context of Turkish public listed companies and their ETRs, secondly it gives information to corporate managers, investors and academics about tax burden of Turkish public listed companies