Turkiye’s Double Taxation Treaties: Cluster Analysis
Contemporary Economics, vol.20, no.1, pp.1-22, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 20 Issue: 1
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.5709/ce.1897-9254.579
- Journal Name: Contemporary Economics
- Journal Indexes: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, ABI/INFORM, Central & Eastern European Academic Source (CEEAS), Directory of Open Access Journals, East & Central Europe Database (ProQuest), Business Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Page Numbers: pp.1-22
- Keywords: asymmetry, BEPS MLI, double taxation treaties, K-means clustering analysis, two-step cluster analysis
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the 79 double taxation treaties that Türkiye has signed with various countries and provide empirical evidence of asymmetries among them. The study also highlighted the importance of neutrality in international tax policy; examined the asymmetries caused by varying definitions of concepts and withholding tax rates; and revealed the necessity of BEPS MLI for Türkiye. To conduct this analysis, the treaties were clustered according to six characteristics: (a) taxes covered by the treaty, (b) definition of permanent es-tablishment, (c) definition of royalties, (d) withholding rates of dividends, (e) withholding rates of interests, and (f) withholding rates of royalties. Using both K-means clustering with the elbow method and a two-step clustering analysis, the results revealed substantial asymmetries among Türkiye’s double taxation treaties across these six characteristics. The results should be of particular interest to policymakers and other stakeholders interested in developing treaty standardization protocols.