Legislation, Incentives and Supports

Legislation, Incentives and Supports

INCENTIVES AND SUPPORT 

According to the Technology Development Zone Law No. 4691, the support and exemptions provided to entrepreneurial companies are as follows: 

**Income and Corporate Tax Exemption for Firms and Entrepreneurs 

Income and corporate taxpayers operating in the Zone are exempt from income and corporate tax until 31.12.2028 for their earnings from R&D, design and software activities exclusively (only) in this Zone. 



**Income Tax Exemption 

Until 31.12.2028, the income tax calculated after the minimum living allowance is applied over the wages of the R&D, design and support personnel working in the region for these duties is canceled by deducting from the tax accrued on the withholding tax return. Papers issued regarding fees within this scope are exempt from stamp tax. 

The wages of support personnel are also within the scope of the exemption. For example, employees in the human resources, accounting and finance departments are considered as support personnel. The number of support personnel who will benefit from the incentives regarding income tax withholding and employer's insurance premium cannot exceed 10 of the number of R&D and design personnel. This rate is applied as 20 for the Zone companies with a total number of personnel up to 15. 

**Out of Region Work Permit of R&D and Design Personnel 

In cases where some of the activities within the scope of the project must be carried out outside the Region, provided that they are directly related to the projects carried out by the R&D and design personnel working in the businesses in the Region, in the Region with the portion to be determined separately or jointly by the President, provided that it does not exceed 100% of the fees for these activities outside the Region. The portion to be determined separately or jointly by the President of the Republic, provided that it does not exceed 100% of the wages related to the time spent by the R&D and design personnel working in the enterprises working in the enterprises outside the Region, not exceeding 15 years for graduate students and 2 years for doctoral students, is considered within the scope of income tax withholding incentive. 

During the pandemic period, a certain amount of time worked outside was considered as working in a technopolis and was included in the scope of incentives by the ministry. In case the personnel working in the businesses located in the Zone in accordance with flexible working hours carry out 20 of their activities outside the Zone, this 20 working period will benefit from direct income tax incentives without any conditions (card, turnstile, etc.). This rate, which is determined as 20%, can be increased up to 50% by the President. Accordingly, without any application or permission, 20 of the working hours will be considered within the scope of direct exemption and an advantage will be provided for technopolis companies. 

**VAT Exemption 

Entrepreneurs operating in technopolis are exempt from VAT for their deliveries and services in the form of system management, data management, business applications, sectoral internet, games, mobile and military command and control application software produced exclusively in these regions. As of 01.01.2019, VATs charged on software sales exempted from VAT in Technopolises will be subject to a discount on the VAT declaration. 

**Insurance Employer Premium Support 

Half of the employer's share in the insurance premium calculated over the wages of the personnel whose wages are exempt from income tax within the framework of the Law No. 4691 is covered from the appropriation to be put into the budget of the Ministry of Finance. 

**Stamp Duty Incentive 

There is no stamp tax exemption other than fees. The managing company is exempt from stamp duty and fees due to the papers and transactions made regarding the implementation of this law. 

**Wage Stamp Duty 

Within the scope of Law No. 4691, the wages of R&D and support personnel working in technology development zones related to these duties are exempt from stamp tax. 

**Customs Duty Exemption 

Goods imported to be used in research related to R&D, innovation and design projects are exempt from customs duty and all kinds of funds, and papers and transactions made within this scope are exempt from stamp duty and fees. Entrepreneurs located in the region that will benefit from this exemption will submit their requests to the regional manager company according to the application form and its annexes determined by the General Directorate of Science and Technology, and the regional manager company will evaluate that the demand for imported goods is not appropriate in terms of suitability for the project. The regional manager company will send the application regarding the goods deemed suitable for import to the General Directorate of Science and Technology through the Single Window System of the Ministry of Customs and Trade, and the General Directorate will evaluate and notify the Ministry of Customs and Trade on the system. 

**Skilled Staff Support 

The monthly payment of Technology Development Zones companies that employ R&D personnel with at least a bachelor's degree in basic sciences to each of these personnel