Economics
Turkey Raises Tax on Some FX Purchases to Aid Virus Battle
A pedestrian wearing a protective face mask checks his smartphone while passing an electronic currency exchange rate board in Istanbul, Turkey, on April 27.
Photographer: Kerem Uzel/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Turkey hiked the tax on individual foreign currency purchases and the withholding tax on banks’ commercial paper to raise more money to deal with the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The so-called bank and insurance transaction tax rate on individual foreign exchange purchases, which also includes gold, has been raised to 1% from 0.2%, according to a statement in the Official Gazette on Sunday. The withholding tax on banks’ commercial papers went up to 15% from 10%.