Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer has vetoed this week a real estate tax bill passed onto his approval. The bill contains amendments to the current tax law. The Turkish cabinet gave the bill its final shape in mid-February, as part of government efforts to target additional sources of income.
Refusing to sign the bill into a law, Sezer returned it to parliament for further debate due to “linguistic errors spoiling its content,” reported Milliyet. An earlier decision to raise property tax in urban centers by 100 percent was criticized by Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit in mid-January as “unreasonable”.
Real estate tax is payable annually, in two installments. It refers to building tax and land tax, with an 0.2 percent collected for office buildings, 0.1 percent for houses, 0.3 percent for land and 0.1 percent for land outside of municipal areas.
Land property in industrial zones, shipyards and agricultural facilities is exempt from tax. Real estate tax paid by companies is deductible for corporation tax. A two percent tax on real estate transactions is equally divided between buyer and seller. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
