Turkey unveils grand tax deferral package

ISTANBUL

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Turkey has announced some 1.9 million taxpayers will be benefiting from force majeure provisions due to COVID-19 outbreak, the treasury and finance minister said on March 24.

“We have identified business sectors and sub-sectors which fall under force majeure provisions,” Berat Albayrak said on his Twitter account.

The force majeure general communique of the ministry, prepared as part of the country’s Economic Stability Shield package announced on March 18, covers some 1.9 million self-employed taxpayers, including farmers, lawyers, architects, pharmacists, and grocers, according to a banner published by the Treasury and Finance Ministry.

The communique also covers the businesses in the retail, iron-steel-metal industry, automotive, box office, logistics, hospitality, catering, textile-apparel, event organization and healthcare sectors.

Those benefiting from the force majeure provisions will be exempt from paying taxes of the following three months, Albayrak said, adding that deferred tax liabilities for the mentioned months will be postponed for six months.

Besides, they will not be obliged to file tax statements until July 27, he said.

Taxpayers over the age of 65 and those who have chronic health problems will not pay tax or file statements until the Interior Ministry lifts the partial curfew which was imposed on them on March 22.

The move was in line with the relief package announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week to limit the economic fallout from the coronavirus.

The package, worth 100 billion Turkish liras ($15.4 billion), includes debt payment delays and tax cuts across various sectors.

The relief package will provide $8-9 billion liquidity to the markets in the next three months, Albayrak said on March 19.

The finance minister said he had “no concerns” about Turkey’s ability to meet its economic growth of 5 percent, budget and inflation targets for 2020 despite expectations of a potentially severe global recession.