Turkey's official newspaper announced today, Friday, an increase in the value-added tax by two percentage points in two categories, as well as an increase in the tax imposed on personal bank loans. The newspaper indicated that "the value-added tax on goods and services has risen to 20%, while the tax on essential goods such as paper towels, detergents, and diapers has increased to 10%."
In the announcement published in the official newspaper, which took effect immediately, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed several decisions, including raising the insurance and banking transaction tax applied to personal loans to 15%. One of the decisions showed that "the registration fees for mobile phones brought from abroad have increased by 228%."
Separately, Turkey also decided to "exempt dividend payments on treasury shares purchased by companies listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange from withholding tax." These decisions came after a draft law was proposed in Parliament a few days ago aimed at raising the corporate tax to 25% to finance needs related to recovery from the earthquake's impact.
