Font Size : 12 Punto 14 Punto 16 Punto 18 Punto
New legislation aims to leave no room for tax dodgers
The draft of new income tax legislation recently submitted to the Finance Ministry for revision proposes the establishment of four new "security programs" to curb tax evasion.
Tuesday, 30 September 2008 10:30

According to the Anatolia news agency, under the draft bill, the Turkish tax system will introduce the following new practices: Setting average rates of adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for every sector and region; determining average revenue levels for every type of business; enforcing the declaration of sales and revenues for income earners; and setting minimum income ceilings for taxpayers in the single entry, a method in bookkeeping to register the activities of small companies and individuals. In addition, the ministry will tighten its grip on the income tax system by including several security measures already active in the corporate tax system.
The proposed tax security procedures will be as follows:

Setting EBITDA rates: The Finance Ministry will determine rates of EBITDA based on the declarations of earnings by companies for their activities in the first nine months of the year. The rates will be announced by the end of the tenth month separately for every business and for every region. If a business has an EBITDA that is more than 30 percent lower than the EBITDA set out by the ministry specifically for its sector and region, this business will be allowed to correct its EBITDA by changing its declaration with an adjustment tax return in a month following the determination of the EBITDA by the ministry. If the tax assessment, the amount that is taken as the basis for the calculation of the amount of tax to be paid, increases with the new declaration, the taxpayer will not be asked to pay a fine or overdue interest.

Determining average revenue levels for every business: This process is aimed at fighting tax fraud in earnings from ventures such as hotels, bars, night clubs, restaurants, hair salons, public baths and repair shops. Finance Ministry bureaucrats will calculate what businesses in each of these sectors earn on average in a year based on inspections of sales and inventory stock. A venture will not be able to declare annual revenue of more than 10 percent below this average.

Declaration of sales and revenues: If the annual expenditures of a Turkish taxpayer are 10 percent higher than the revenues declared by this taxpayer in the same year, they will be asked to declare every detail of their revenues and expenditures to the Revenue Administration within a month. They will also be required to show documents, receipts and bills pertaining to their revenues and expenditures.

Minimum earnings for single-entry taxpayers: Special commissions to be established within the Revenue Administration will determine the commercial revenue levels for every type of business working with single-entry accounting methods, such as street vendors and cab drivers. These commissions will include two bureaucrats from the Revenue Administration and two representatives from chambers of the relevant business. These commissions will set out minimum annual net revenues for these kinds of businesses.

Todays Zaman

Markets
  Buying Selling
Euro 2.1169 2.1271
Dolar 1.5465 1.5540
Sterlin 2.3572 2.3695
INTERVIEW
Poll
Which side will be victorious after the Israeli ground operations?
Photo Gallery
Videos