Alternative Minimum Tax

Abstract

One of the main problems of the Turkish Tax System is that the tax revenues of indirect taxes are very high compared to direct taxes. Taxpayers can reduce their income and tax burden by using exceptions, exemptions and reductions, and may state low income and / or tax base. In this case; the policy that should be implemented is to include into the tax system the people who must pay more taxes according to their economic. Implementation of this policy is not as easy as increasing the tax rates. Because it is necessary to determine the methods of tax exclusion and to block these methods. Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) is a compulsory alternative to the regular income tax in the United States. In this alternative; some taxpayers’ liabilities are calculated twice once according to the regular Income Tax rules and once according to the AMT rules. This study will mainly focus on the AMT, which came into force in 1969 to struggle against similar problems in the United States. In order to better understand the AMT; general principles, historical development, purpose and its implication will be explained; the criticism of the structure of the AMT will be put forward and it will be explained whether such a tax will be benefited if it is implemented in Turkey.