AMUSEMENT TAX: THE CASE OF TURKEY AND SWITZERLAND

Year 2012, Volume: 4 Issue: 1, 41 - 50, 01.06.2012

Bernur Açıkgöz Ersoy Alexander Mack Alain Schönenberger

Abstract

Selective taxes on goods and services are widespread among developed and less
developed countries. In Europe, small excise taxes – small with respect to their
yields – have been abandoned during the twentieth century or absorbed into
general taxes, but the large taxes on, e.g., tobacco or petroleum products
remained. The objective of the full paper is to provide a general survey of the
origins, the nature, the techniques, and the likely economic impact of the
amusement tax, which so far has received little attention in the professional
literature. The paper will concentrate on the amusement tax levied in OECD
countries, and includes two case studies on Turkey and Switzerland.

Keywords

amusement tax, excise taxes, public revenues