Tax Audit In Estate Sales To Foreigners

ANKARA - Turkish Ministry of Finance has initiated a series of studies aiming to examine the lawfulness of estate sales to foreigners in coastal towns of Turkey, following its recent inspections on asset sales in several Turkish metropolises.
The ministry has started tax audits in 8 centres within the framework of inspections, officials said.
The Account Experts Board of the ministry first determined the taxpayers and the limits to be taken into consideration regarding the sales to foreigners.
Afterwards, nearly 100 auditors were sent to Istanbul, northwestern city of Bursa, southern cities of Adana and Antalya, Gebze town of Kocaeli, and coastal towns of Alanya, Didim, Kusadasi and Bodrum.
The experts carried out a preliminary study on the issue in coastal towns of Fethiye and Bodrum last year, which revealed that 40 YTL of every 100 YTL obtained from asset sales to foreigners were not officially declared.
Upon such a high rate of tax evasion, the ministry decided to launch a more comprehensive audit this year, officials stated.