NEW TURKISH WITHHOLDING TAX ROILS BROKERS AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ISTANBUL 000392 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS TREASURY FOR CPLANTIER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EFIN TU SUBJECT: NEW TURKISH WITHHOLDING TAX ROILS BROKERS AND BANKS BUT HAS MINIMAL MARKET IMPACT ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Turkey's new 15 percent withholding tax on capital gains and interest from government securities has had little of the market impact that market players predicted last year. A number of analysts profess surprise at how limited the impact has been, with some noting that the Treasury wisely reduced its rollover ratio at the same time that it introduced the tax, thereby minimizing its impact. Interest rates on government debt have risen slightly in recent weeks, most analysts ascribed the increase to the impact of increasing rates in the U.S. and other developed countries on flows to emerging markets. The withholding tax's impact on stock prices has also been minimal, with many noting that the negative hit from the new tax has been more than counterbalanced by gains resulting from the reduction in Turkey's corporate tax rate from 30 to 20 percent. Still, the tax has had an important impact in several derivative markets, most notably in that for American depository receipts (ADRs) for Turkish companies. Local custodians note that because of uncertainty surrounding tax issues, new ADRs are not being issued, and while existing ones continue to be traded, they are not being cancelled or reissued. Concerned depositary institutions, including notably the Bank of New York (BONY),which holds 70 percent of the local market, have lobbied without success for the exclusion of ADRs from the tax. From a big picture policy perspective, the withholding tax has considerable merit as it is part of a broader, IMF-supported effort to tax all financial instruments equally. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) A Controversial Measure: The new withholding tax sparked extensive concern and opposition last year, with leading local and international brokerages making the journey to Ankara to argue that the measure could bring a sharp spike in the interest rates Turkey pays on its government debt, as investors took on board a new cost that would significantly diminish the return they received on their investments. In the event, however, the new tax made its debut not with a bang, but with a whimper, with an almost imperceptible impact on Turkey's broad market indices. Local brokerages we surveyed (including Global, EFG Securities, EkspresInvest, and Finansinvest) admit to being surprised by the low-key �A;reaction. They attribute it to several factors, including a wait-and-see attitude adopted by many investors in the first months of the tax's implementation, and the fact that the measure does not apply to bonds purchased before the tax's entry into force on January 1. Cem Akyurek at Global also noted that the Treasury's decision to reduce the rollover ratio on Turkish debt helped to minimize the impact. Some analysts believe, however, that the tax's full effect will only be visible in 6-10 months, as more existing treasuries expire and investors must select another investment vehicle. Baturalp Candemir at EFG, notes that with the interest banks pay on deposits matching (and in many cases exceeding) the rates on treasury bills, more and more investors are opting to take their money out of government bonds when their existing holdings mature and put them in deposit accounts. He attributes the slight uptick in rates at the end of January and early February in part to this phenomenon, and predicts that this trend will intensify. ¶3. (SBU) Localized Impact: Though the broad market impact of the new tax has been limited, certain of its provisions have severely roiled some market segments, including particularly the market for American Depository Receipts (ADRs) of Turkish companies. That market has been frozen since the beginning of the year, as the way in which Turkish tax authorities apply the tax leaves the final purchaser of such an instrument liable for tax on the capital gain over its entire life when it is cancelled or reissued, potentially eclipsing any capital gain he or she earned from it. The Bank of New York (BONY) has pursued this issue with the Turkish Government without success, and warns that if the rules are not reworked to permit the ADR market to function, BONY, which controls 70 percent of that market in Turkey, may be compelled to close its local office. "We have lost our entire revenue base," BONY's Istanbul Representatiave Neslihan Tombul told us recently. Tombul characterized her meetings with government officials in Ankara as unproductive, noting that officials there seem intent on maintaining an approach to taxing these instruments that is out-of-step with world practice. Others who participated in the meetings note that while the Ministry now understands the problem, it is not inclined to correct it, as it believes it would be unfair provide special treatment to one type of instrument. They note that local brokers have lined up on the other side of the issue out of fear that exempting ADRs will shift transaction volume out of the Istanbul Stock Exchange and ISTANBUL 00000392 002 OF 003 overseas. Tombul appealed for the Embassy to raise the issue with the GOT, given its impact on BONY's bottom line. ¶4. (SBU) Swaps: Complicating the story is the fact that for the time being at least, authorities are not applying the withholding tax to swap contracts in countries such as the Netherlands or the U.S. which have double taxation treaties with Turkey. Local brokers characterize this market as a "gray area," which is neither completely legal or illegal. A number of them, however, have looked into the market and decided that the risks are too great, as the custodian in the Netherlands or other tax treaty country may be left with the tax liability if, for instance, the transactions are investigated and it is determined that the end beneficiary of the swap was not a resident of the Netherlands who was entitled to benefit from the tax treaty. This specific issue has also been raised with the U.S. Mission by concerned investors, who note that Turkish authorities are considering a regulation whereby they will make this exclusion explicit. This, investors note, would prevent them from establishing special purpose vehicles (SPVs) in Holland to benefit from the treaty. In seeking an explicit statement from Turkish tax authorities that existence of such a vehicle conforms to the requirements of the Dutch-Turkish tax treaty, Raymond James Securities made the argument to us that such a statement would level the playing field for all foreign investors, and asked rhetorically, "where is the fairness in permitting one group of international investors to invest in Turkey without paying the withholding tax while another group has to pay the tax?" ¶5. (SBU) Local brokers are not swayed by the argument, however. They prefer that all investments be taxed equally, arguing that otherwise foreigners (including "mustachioed foreigners"-- another term for Turkish capital held overseas) will shift their investment activity offshore. In this regard, one analyst at a local brokerage told us, ADRs are a much greater risk than swaps, since many funds are either prohibited from engaging in the latter or have strict limits on them. Exclusion of ADRs from the tax, he argued, would lead to a dramatic rise in their use, above and beyond the 40 companies that currently issue them. ¶6. (SBU) Treaty Violation?: Beyond these specialized issues, some tax analysts suggest to us that the withholding tax is in violation of the U.S.-Turkey bilateral tax treaty, full stop, though they note that investors have been reluctant to draw attention to themselves by pressing the point. Umurcan Gago, tax division manager at Pricewaterhouse Coopers, notes that under the treaty American investors are subject to tax only in their home jurisdiction so long as the following three conditions apply: they held their assets for more than a year, they sold them to a non-Turkish resident, or they consisted of stocks or bonds that are quoted on a stock exchange in Turkey. Historically, however, he notes, the Turkish Ministry of Finance has interpreted the conditions more stringently, arguing that a stock or bond must be registered, quoted and listed, and "actively traded" in order to benefit. Investors have been unhappy with this stipulation since it was first introduced in the late 1990s. The provision has become much more problematic since January 1, however, as investors no longer benefit from the tax exempt status they enjoyed on assets such as government securities. In addition, the Finance Ministry has been insistent that treasury bonds are not technically "quoted" on an exchange, and hence cannot benefit from the "quotation release." ¶7. (SBU) Though our financial market contacts are understandably focused on the considerable and sometimes unfavorable impact the new tax is having on their business, the tax itself is part of a broader IMF-supported reform to tax all financial instruments at the same rate. In addition to withholding at source in an attempt to maximize compliance, the single rate was designed to get the government out of the business of favoring one instrument over another. This change is particularly beneficial in lessening the "crowding out" by government securities, since until 2006 these securities were not taxed. The change is also likely to encourage the badly-needed deepening of the banking sector, since bank deposits can now compete on a level playing field with government securities. ¶8. (SBU) Comment: These exceedingly technical and arcane issues are likely to keep investment professionals occupied for quite some time to come. While the macroeconomic impact of the new tax has been minimal, in the face of the global ISTANBUL 00000392 003 OF 003 flood of liquidity that continues to wash over Turkey, the impact has been dramatic on some specific markets. In response to BONY's requests for Embassy intercession with the GOT on the ADR issue, we have suggested that they first pursue their efforts to secure support from ADR issuers such as Turkcell, who also stand to be signficantly affected, as well as from the local brokerage community, whose resistance to ADRs appears to have stiffened the Ministry's back on the issue. To date, however, they have not been successful on either front. Local brokers remain staunchly opposed to exempting ADRs, while issuing companies do not see the issue in the same "life and death" terms as BONY, given that their other investment vehicles are flourishing in Turkey's buoyant markets. End Comment. JONES