Presidency raises mobile telecom, internet tax by 33 percent

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The special communication tax rate has been increased from 7.5 percent to 10 percent with a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Saturday (January 30).

The tax applies to electronic communication services, namely mobile phones and the internet.

It is also known as the "earthquake tax" because it was introduced after the 1999 Marmara earthquake, which claimed more than 18,000 lives in northwestern Turkey.

It was introduced as a temporary tax but after being extended twice, it was made permanent by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government at the end of 2003.

Tax specialist Ozan Bingöl said on Twitter that the state collected 72.3 billion lira (~10 billion USD) as special communication tax between 2000 and 2020. (AÖ/VK)