The so-called earthquake tax (also officially known as special communications tax
) was introduced in the aftermath of the
earthquake in İzmit in 1999 during which over 17,000 people died. Initially introduced as a temporary tax, it became a permanent tax aimed at the prevention of earthquake-related damage.
Establishment
The earthquake tax was established in November 1999 during the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
of
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in 197 ...
and was directed at cable TV, mobile calls, and messaging.
With law No. 4481, taxes on income, vehicle, real estate, private communication and private transaction were added.
In 2003 most of the taxes were abolished,
but the private communication tax remained and became permanent.
The tax was initially 7.5% on private communication,
but over a
presidential decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
it was raised to 10% in early 2021.
Aims and use
With the taxes, buildings were to be prepared better for earthquakes.
Telecommunications services were also meant to be improved. The
(AFAD) was able to build logistic hubs in 25 provinces for disaster prevention.
Then, further logistic centers for goods for use after disasters were established in 65 provinces.
In 2012, the government announced a new plan aimed at reinforcing buildings to make them earthquake-proof.
In a 2011 video, Minister of Treasury,
Mehmet Şimşek
Mehmet Şimşek (born 1 January 1967) is a Turkish politician and economist, who has been serving as the List of Finance Ministers of Turkey, Minister of Treasury and Finance since 4 June 2023. He was the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey from 24 ...
says that the tax money was used for several transport and agriculture projects.
Amount raised
There are different calculations possible regarding the amount of the money raised. As of 2023, the Turkish Government raised about $4.5 billion.
But in view of the exchange rate of below 1.5 Turkish lira per dollar in 2006, the sum raised amounts to $37 billion.
Similarly calculating, the
Gazete Duvar
Duvar was an online news portal which focuses mainly on Turkish politics. Duvar's headquarters are located in Sariyer Istanbul.
History
It was founded in 2016 by Vedat Zencir, the first conscientious objector in Turkey. Its current editor-i ...
reports that by 2020, between 67.5 – 140 billion lira have been raised since 1999.
Criticism
After several earthquakes there arose questions on whether the tax money was distributed accordingly.
Following the
earthquake of February 2023, the
Republican People's Party
The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...
(CHP) claims that with the tax, millions of houses could have been made resistant to earthquakes, but the government instead used the money to fund its construction projects.
[{{Cite web , title=Erdbebensteuer der Türkei zweckentfremdet: Heftige Kritik an Erdogan nach Katastrophe mit tausenden Toten , url=https://www.fr.de/politik/vetternwirtschaft-katastrophe-news-erdbeben-tuerkei-recep-tayyip-erdogan-steuer-zweckentfremdet-betrug-92073382.html , access-date=2023-02-11 , website=]Frankfurter Rundschau
The ''Frankfurter Rundschau'' (''FR'') is a German daily newspaper, based in Frankfurt am Main. The ''Rundschaus editorial stance is social liberal. It holds that "independence, social justice and fairness" underlie its journalism. In Post-wa ...
, date=10 February 2023 , language=de
References
Earthquakes in Turkey
Communications in Turkey
Taxation in Turkey
Political controversies in Turkey