The tax amnesty debt restructuring law proposal was passed by the General Assembly of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and accepted in the Assembly. The details of the most comprehensive tax debt restructuring law to date were discussed at the Aegean Exporters' Associations Information Seminar on the Restructuring Law No. 7440.
Aegean Exporters' Unions Coordinator President Jak Eskinazi mentioned that the Constructive Law No. 7440, known as the amnesty law in the public, is the 42nd amnesty law that has been passed since the establishment of the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
“As you all know, frequent amnesty laws punish those who pay regularly and reward those who do not. First of all, in our tax system, where the principle of declaration is adopted, taxpayers fulfill their declaration and payment obligations on their own, as determined by the legislation. Measures for taxpayers who do not fulfill their obligations fully and on time are the devices that increase the level of voluntary tax compliance. Due to the advantages of amnesty laws for taxpayers who do not fulfill their declaration and payment obligations fully and on time, it is not possible to disagree with the concerns about voluntary tax compliance. Again, such regulations have become questionable in terms of tax justice.” said.
The constitutionality of the earthquake tax is discussed
Eskinazi said, “The provisions regarding the base and tax increase, on the other hand, provide benefits in terms of preventing disputes and problems that may arise from differences in interpretation and practice between the administration and taxpayers, while ensuring that taxpayers who have not fulfilled their declaration obligations voluntarily and defectively in the past periods will make a profit, so to speak. The scope of the amnesty law is wide, affecting the receivables of almost all institutions. It appeals to a wide audience. It was announced by the officials of the Ministry of Finance that a collection of around 7440 billion was expected in the additional tax brought by the Law No. 100, which is called the earthquake tax. This earthquake tax is different from the previous period, its constitutionality is being discussed.” he said.
President Eskinazi also talked about the benefits of such restructuring laws in terms of public finances and accordingly the macro economy, and said, “Especially when the central government budget has given a deficit of 2023 billion TL in the first two months of 202,8, the collections to be provided by the Law No. 7440 will have a negative impact on the macro economy. becomes important to mitigate its effects.” he ended his speech.
Collection performance will be lower than previous similar arrangements
Adnan Yıldırım, Former General Manager of Türk Eximbank and Former Deputy Minister of Economy, Adnan Yıldırım said, “It was unfortunate in terms of collection performance that the law coincided with a period when access to finance was limited for businesses and after the earthquake disaster. Collection performance will be lower than previous similar arrangements. I hope the correction of business registrations is done for the last time, negatively affecting the efforts to transition to the formal economy.” he said.
İzmir Tax Office President Ömer Alanlı and Aegean Exporters' Unions Financial Advisor and Sworn Advisor Mustafa Bulut also made presentations on the scope and configuration of the Configuration Law No. 7440.