GLOBAL MINIMUM CORPORATE TAX IN THE CONTEXT OF TAX THEORIES

Taxation is one of the most fundamental instruments reflecting the fiscal power and sovereignty of the state. Classical economists such as Adam Smith, Adolf Wagner, and Joseph Schumpeter considered taxation not only as a source of revenue but also as an indispensable element for the continuity of political order. Musgrave’s theory of public finance and Tiebout’s model of local expenditures emphasized the dimensions of justice, efficiency, and welfare in taxation. With the processes of globalization and digitalization, the increasing capital mobility of multinational corporations has deepened tax competition, often described as a “race to the bottom,” and caused significant erosion of national tax bases through tax havens. In response to these developments, the Global Minimum Corporate Tax introduced under the leadership of the OECD represents a paradigm shift in the international tax order. This study aims to examine the global minimum corporate tax within the framework of tax theories and evaluates it in light of the benefit theory, the ability-to-pay approach, optimal taxation, and tax competition theory. In doing so, the global minimum corporate tax is addressed not merely as a technical regulation but also as a theoretical transformation situated at the core of international debates on tax justice, sovereignty and efficiency.