Turkey hiked the tax on individual foreign currency purchases and the withholding tax on banks’ commercial paper to help it deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 disease, Bloomberg reported.
The so-called bank and insurance transaction tax rate on individual foreign exchange purchases, which also includes gold, has been raised to 1 percent from 0.2 percent, according to a statement in the Official Gazette on Sunday.
The withholding tax on banks’ commercial papers went up to 15 percent from 10 percent, Bloomberg quoted the statement as saying.
The proceeds will allow the government to give more aid to businesses and citizens hurt by the coronavirus, according to a Treasury official.
The tax on foreign exchange purchases won’t apply to interbank market and credit transactions, purchases by Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Ministry, to exporters or to those paying loans in foreign currencies, Bloomberg said.
