Türkiye’s learning approach in obtaining taxes from cyber influencers

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, the arrest of a famous Instagram influencer In Turkey, he was accused of money laundering and the establishment of dozens of illegal companies. It has started an important debate in Turkey. And services in the cyberspace have not only become one of the most important areas of money laundering, organized crime, but also a huge amount of wealth is transferred there, which must pay taxes to the government.

Turkey is one of the countries that has strict and decisive laws in the field of tax affairs, and usually, failure to pay taxes not only brings scandal and social discredit, but also includes heavy financial penalties and fines. which can lead to the bankruptcy of an individual or company.

Since Turkey is poor in terms of oil wealth and other underground resources, it gives special importance to the issue of taxation. Because obtaining a reasonable and appropriate tax is one of the most important sources of government income.

Now it has been several years that the experts in Turkish tax affairs have discovered the fact that the amounts transferred in the field Advertising goods and services on the internet and social networks are very large sums and should be taxed.

Before we go to the introduction of the new experience of the Turkish government in collecting taxes from Jamaat influencers, we should review this issue once. Let’s find out who the influencer is and where influencer marketing is in today’s world economy.

If we say that the world before the spread of the Internet and the world after it are completely different, we are not wrong. . Because social media based on the Internet and virtual space have changed the work and business environment, business, buying and selling and everything.

If until yesterday, to become Sales manager and marketer, iron shoes, courage and a lot of field experience were needed and we had to start the work from the low level of a visitor, now without needing an office and gloves and searching and walking, with one phone and one account. It is possible to reach such a level.

Influencers establish close relationships with contacts and serve different people, companies and brands to introduce new business products and services. . They usually use Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and similar tools and somehow share in the income of big brands. Virtual space is active because of their popularity and high number of followers, a product can be sold easily. Because the fan does not knock him down and it is enough to say that he likes a certain brand of clothes and shoes or a certain perfume and sports goods, so that a flood of buyers will come.

It means that this type of people, without having to do a difficult job or experience the risk and risk of investment, will become the owner of wealth and large income. Good! Naturally, such a person should also pay taxes. />

In Turkey, to describe famous and effective influencers, the English-German word “phenomenon” is used, which is equivalent to the word “phenomenon” in Persian language.

When a famous phenomenon or influencer in Turkey with three to four million followers advertises for a product or service in a social network, it has such an impact on the sales flow that a It shakes up the market for the sale of goods and services and creates prosperity and competition while ending the recession.

This is where the tax auditors of Erdogan’s government come into the field and realize that At least two hundred people from the long list of these advertisements in cyberspace are making money, and the tax that can be collected from them is equivalent to the tax money of several thousand employees and companies and small production units and guilds.

Erdogan government, financial transparency and internet advertising

In the new government of Erdoğan, there have been changes, one of which is becoming more sensitive to the issue of financial transparency, combating money laundering and seriously controlling the activities of celebrities and famous figures in the business environment and company management.

It was just a few days ago that Dilan Polat and her husband Engin Polat were arrested and sent to prison on charges of money laundering, tax evasion, and creating a cover for financial corruption, and several of the couple’s companies were confiscated by the government.

Dylan Polat is the name of a thirty-year-old young woman who, until a few years ago, was her biggest work and job, wedding photography. Dylan met her by chance at the wedding of one of the famous Turkish celebrities, and after attending several other weddings and establishing a women’s beauty salon, he traveled the hundred-year path of wealth and fame overnight.

On his personal Instagram page, he did promotional work, both as a photographer and as a manager of a women’s beauty salon. Little by little, the number of his fans reached an incredible number of 8 million people!

Such a thing meant huge advertising revenues for him and his wife. But apparently Mrs. Polat was not satisfied with this income and started money laundering. When the prosecutor asked about her wealth, she stated that she only had a house, a beauty salon shop and three It has a car device. But statistics showed that he is a partner in 127 companies, has several multi-million dollar expensive cars, owns several villas and several gardens and farms, and has tens of millions of liras in his bank accounts.

However, in the face of the flood of questions, he claimed that he did not know and that he may have received loans from banks! But the prosecutor asked for imprisonment and forfeiture of money for him on charges of money laundering and tax evasion, and the judge agreed with such a sentence. in the past years, by using social popularity, through sales promotion, they have gained millions of lira wealth.

Now the government wants all these people active on Instagram and Other areas receive taxes. Of course, after the arrest of Dilan Polat and his husband and 5 members of his family, the media opposing Erdogan’s government raised two important questions that none of the political, security and judicial authorities have been willing to answer these two questions: 1. The network In addition to tax evasion, influential Dylan Polat has also engaged in money laundering. Which real or legal person does this money belong to and why is their identity not disclosed? 2. Within three years, they collected a legendary wealth of several tens of millions of dollars and had accomplices and racketeers in the police, judiciary, banking system and document registration, who prevented the disclosure of the huge dimensions of money transfer. Why are these offenders not arrested?

Now the Turkish government has announced that any influencer who publishes advertisements on social networks and shares links to sell goods and services or earn money by promoting products or brands does, should provide the basis for tax calculation by issuing an invoice for this income. It is equivalent to one million and 900 thousand liras (65 thousand dollars).

In other words, a person who earned an amount equal to 65 thousand dollars per year from advertising on Instagram or other networks It is not necessary to pay taxes. But if it exceeds this amount, he must fill out a declaration.

Turkey’s Financial Police has announced that almost all of the investigated people have not paid this tax yet. It has been found that 200 influencers and copyright owners investigated so far do not pay taxes. For this reason, tax inspectors issued heavy tax fines to these 200 people. As the investigation continues, this number is expected to increase and exceed 500 people.

It is stated in the Tax Procedure Law No. 7338 and the Law on the Amendment of Certain Laws that entered into force on October 26, 2021. According to the law, from 2022, people who have these jobs will open a special account in a bank established in Turkey, and the bank will deduct only 15% of the withholding tax from the payments made to this account. In addition, these incomes are not subject to value added tax.

In the end, it should be said, now in the work and business environment in Iran, hundreds and maybe thousands of people are earning big incomes in are influential spheres and monitoring their income and collecting taxes can be considered a fair measure in the country’s tax policy.

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