Turkey Decides Against Additional Tax Package on Stocks and Crypto

• There will no longer be a “very limited” transactional tax on stocks or crypto.
• Turkey’s President Erdoğan has vowed to make the country an international investment hub.
• The Turkish Lira is the fourth most-traded fiat currency in crypto.

After months of waiting, Turkey’s Vice President, Cevdet Yilmaz, has confirmed that there will be no additional tax packages on stocks or crypto.

Turkey Crypto Tax

In June 2024, the Turkish government officially decided to make stocks and crypto exempt from taxation. However, it was considering a “very limited” transactional tax. Fast forward to today, and it’s finally been confirmed that this will no longer be the case.

Speaking with Bloomberg, Vice President Yilmaz explained, “We don’t have a stocks tax on our agenda. It was discussed previously and fell from our agenda,” adding that the focus will now be placed on “narrowing” tax exemptions.

The announcement arrives as Turkey moves to make itself an attractive hub for global investments. It comes as a part of the nation’s broader ambitions to pull itself out of economic turmoil, which is seemingly going rather well, according to its president.

Erdoğan on Investments

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently spoke at the 15th Turkey Investment Conference, where he placed great emphasis on the potential of foreign investments, its economic recovery , and its partnership with the U.S. He noted:

“There are only five countries in the world with a population exceeding 85 million and a per capita income of over $13; these are the United States, Japan, Russia, Mexico and Turkey.”

Erdoğan explains that in the last five years, growth has averaged 20%, with over $5.4 billion invested into infrastructure, and $20 billion received in direct investments from international partners over the past 20 years.

This has seen airports double, exports increase “270-fold” in these two decades, and have established themselves as an important player in the “defense and aviation industry”.

“[…] we aim to attract more investments that support high added value, sustainable digital transformation, are based on advanced technology and provide qualified employment to our country,” he continued.

On this note, Erdoğan takes the time to explain that “renewable energy, defense industry, biotechnology and automotive sectors” are target areas for a new “international direct investment strategy.” Notably, Turkey will take on collaborative projects with U.S. companies with the aim to become a “focal point” of new-age investments by 2030.

Crypto in Turkey

This vision could now include cryptocurrencies, as just months ago, the government updated its regulations on cryptocurrency, exchanges and service providers , taxes, and so on.

Kaiko Research from July 2024 found that the Turkish Lira is surprisingly the fourth most used fiat currency in crypto. Since 2022, the Lira has trailed the U.S. dollar, Korean Won, and the Euro as the most traded fiat currency.

Highlighting the demand, the report reveals that so far in 2024, cumulative Lira volumes hit around $95 billion, which is close to 2023’s total. The rise coincides with Turkey’s long-standing double-digit inflation and currency devaluation woes.

With no taxes on crypto profits, there’s a strong likelihood that Turkish investment in crypto will increase substantially over the coming years.