Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek addressed the country’s stance on taxing profits from stocks and cryptocurrencies. Simsek clarified that the government is not planning to impose taxes on profits earned from these assets but is considering a “very limited” transaction tax instead.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg in Ankara Simsek stated, the benchmark Borsa Istanbul 100 Index initially reversed losses, rising as much as 0.7% on Wednesday before paring gains to 0.1% as of 5:18 p.m. in Istanbul. The market had previously fallen on reports that authorities were discussing taxing proceeds from stocks and cryptocurrency trading.
Ata Portfoy CEO Mehmet Gerz commented on the potential impact of the proposed transaction tax, stating, “The tax on stocks trading, albeit very limited, could rather lead to inefficiency in the market, while increasing commissions and fees. It’s rather a step to benefit from strong trading volumes.”
Turkey currently does not have specific regulations in place to tax cryptocurrencies. As reported on May 16, Turkey’s ruling party proposes a new bill to regulate the cryptocurrency market where every organization that engages in business related to cryptocurrency must obtain a license and act according to international standards.
The legislation deals with the requirement to collect revenues from providers of such services and a ban on foreign crypto brokers to promote a domestic one-regulated environment. These steps can remove Turkey from the regulator’s so-called ‘gray list’ and respond to the concerns of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
According to Chainalysis data, the country ranks fourth worldwide in estimated trading volume, with an estimated $170 billion in 2023 surpassing the trading volumes of countries like Russia, Canada, Vietnam, Thailand, and Germany.
However, since 2021, Turkish crypto holders have been prohibited from making payments using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC).
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