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On February 12, 2015, the Turkish Minister of Finance Mehmet Şimşek announced the government's intention to impose corporate income tax and VAT on non-resident Internet companies by introducing the concept of "electronic taxpayer" to the Tax Procedure Law
On February 12, 2015, the Turkish Minister of Finance Mehmet
Şimşek announced the government's intention to impose
corporate income tax and VAT on non-resident Internet companies by
introducing the concept of "electronic taxpayer" to the
Tax Procedure Law. The stated objective is to collect tax from
social network platforms and other non-Turkish companies generating
income selling online advertisements directed to Turkish
consumers.
While acknowledging that Turkey's network of tax treaties
could limit the country's ability to tax non-resident Internet
companies, Şimşek noted that the Turkish government is
working to "resolve the issue." He also stated that
unnamed Taiwanese companies, presumably selling online
advertisements, had already agreed to become Turkish taxpayers.
Conclusion
Although there is no publicly available draft on implementation
of the "electronic taxpayer" concept or imposing VAT on
income derived from selling advertising space,
Şimşek's statement indicates that taxation of digital
/ Internet companies remains a priority for the Turkish
government.
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