|
TECHONOLOGY DEVELOPMENT ZONES |
| What
is a technology development zone
(TDZ)? |
A
Technology Development Zone (TDZ) is
a special techno-park in which high-tech
or high-tech-targeting companies operate
and these companies are expected to
o Develop
technology or software by means of
the facilities of a certain university,
high-tech institute, R&D organisation,
o Convert
a technological innovation into a
commercial product, method or service,
o Attract
foreign direct investments,
o Contribute
to the better integration of academic,
economic and social activities in
the geographical location where the
techno-park is based.
Companies
are exempt from income and corporate
taxes for five years following
the start of their operations in a TDZ
provided that the relevant revenues
are based on the software or R&D
know-how they develop within the zone.
The Council of Ministers can extend
the term of exemption to 10
years for some technology areas
to be selected.
Within
the framework of sponsorship,
donations to be granted to
R&D firms operating in a TDZ enable
the sponsor to be granted tax
discounts defined by Article
89/2 of the Income Tax Law No. 193 and
Article 14/6 of the Corporate Tax Law
No. 5422.
TDZs
with water treatment facilities are
exempt from “water-refusal
levy” imposed by municipalities.
Depending
on the sufficiency budgetary allocations,
some of the costs relating
to land acquisition, infrastructure,
and the construction of the administrative
buildings can be financed
by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
| What
is the legal framework? Who is the
regulator? |
TDZs
operate in line with Law No. 4691 dated
June 2001.
The
Ministry
of Industry and Trade regulates
and supervises the TDZs.
An
operator is the legal entity which is
set up pursuant to Law No. 4691 and
is in the charge of the
o
Design and implementation of the project
for establishing the zone,
o Production
of the infra- and super-structure services,
o Management
of the zone.
At
least one of the shareholders of an
Operator must be a university, a technology
institute or a public R&D institute
within the province where the zone is
located.
In
addition, the following legal entities
can have shares within the company (operator):
o
Chambers of Commerce or Industry,
o Local
governments,
o Banks
and financial organisations,
o Turkish
or foreign private sector legal entities,
o Non-profit
organisations relating to R&D and
high-tech,
o FDI companies,
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