Turkey further increases taxes on alcoholic beverages

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The special consumption tax (SCT) on alcoholic beverages and tobacco products has been increased by 17 percent, the Habertürk website reported.

The fixed SCT for a bottle of beer is now 2,3933 lira (1 USD = 7.43 TRY), according to the report. One bottle of beer is usually sold at 12 to 14 lira.

The price of one bottle of rakı, a traditional anise-flavored drink, is now 159.50 lira with 78.20 lira of it being SCT. The increase in the SCT also raises the value-added tax (VAT) of a bottle of rakı by 2.40 lira.

Under nearly 19 years of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule, prices of alcoholic drinks have been increased by about 1,800 percent, mostly through taxes.

Critics claim that the AKP, which defines itself as a conservative party, has political motives behind the excessive pricing.

The government collected 20 billion lira (~2.7 billion USD) of taxes from alcoholic drinks and tobacco products last year, which amounted to 12 percent of its tax income, according to Ministry of Treasury and Finance data. (EKN/VK)