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Tax injustice worsens in Turkey

Two-thirds of the Turkish government’s tax revenues have come from indirect taxes on consumption, adding to the burden of low- and middle-income groups.
A man holds his children near their home in a deserted street near the Suleymaniye mosque in Istanbul during a week-end curfew aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus on December 6, 2020. - Under the new restrictions beginning from December 1, a curfew will be imposed on weekdays from 9:00 pm. to 5:00 am. Over the weekend the lockdown will last from 9:00 pm Friday until 5:00 am on Monday. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Unjust distribution of the tax burden — a major component of economic inequalities in Turkey — has further exacerbated during the coronavirus pandemic, but far from looking for remedies, Ankara has recently hiked taxes that affect low- and middle-income groups the worst.

Budget performance data, released in mid-January, show that tax revenues in the central government budget totaled 833 billion Turkish liras ($117 billion) in 2020, with the bulk coming from indirect taxes levied on consumption. Indirect taxes, including the value-added tax (VAT), the special consumption tax and the special communication tax among others, brought in 551 billion liras ($77 billion), accounting for 66% of all taxes, up from 61% the previous year.

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