Finance Minister outlines tax relief measures for earthquake-affected regions

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet ?im?ek stated that the quality of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye’s reserves has improved in recent periods. Noting that the number of vehicles held by public administrations within the scope of the central government has decreased by 1,161 units, excluding those used for defense, security, health, and disaster management, ?im?ek said: “Since the issuance of the savings circular, the number of vehicles that were re-leased after the expiration of their contracts has been reduced by 19 per cent. Therefore, austerity measures regarding vehicles are being fully implemented, and we are achieving results.”

Speaking at the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) General Assembly, where he responded to lawmakers’ questions and criticisms, ?im?ek said that the increase in reserves was not driven by borrowing. Pointing out that the entire swap stock in the reserves remains at around $20 billion, ?im?ek stated: “By closing especially foreign and domestic swap transactions, the quality of our reserves has increased.”

?im?ek also commented on taxes collected following the earthquake, stating that apart from the introduction of an additional tax after the February 6 earthquakes and the collection of the motor vehicle tax for a second time, no further levies were imposed.

The Treasury Minister said that to date, 224 billion Turkish liras (? $8.26 billion) have been collected within the scope of earthquake taxes, while 3.6 trillion liras (? $133.33 billion) have been spent.

?im?ek said that in order to contribute to facilitating the urgent shelter needs in the earthquake-affected region, the value-added tax (VAT) on the delivery of prefabricated buildings and containers was reduced to 1 per cent, and refund practices were simplified. ?im?ek said: “Even today, the force majeure provision remains available to all our taxpayers who can demonstrate that they were affected by the earthquake. Existing tax debts have been rescheduled interest-free over twenty-four months, and no collateral is required even for amounts of up to 250,000 liras (? $9,260).”

Responding to questions regarding the transition from the simplified tax regime to the standard tax regime, ?im?ek said: “Since 1995, businesses and firms in 13 of our provinces have already been outside the scope of the simplified regime. Now, businesses in 17 other major cities are being brought within this scope. Taxpayers carrying out the same activities in all 30 metropolitan municipalities will be taxed in the same manner, and we will provide every possible facilitation.”