NO MORE TAX BREAKS
The government will discontinue its 'sliding scale' fuel tax offset mechanism at the end of 2026, shifting focus toward boosting budget revenues ahead of potential elections in 2027 or early 2028.
Analysis
In-Depth Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
BAN FOR ACADEMICS ON ONLINE MONETIZATION
The Higher Education Council (YÖK) has effectively barred academics at public universities from monetizing content on YouTube and digital platforms, classifying online revenue as commercial trade, which is illegal for civil servants.
TREASON THEN, TARGET NOW: GOVERNMENT REVIVES BRIDGE PRIVATIZATION
The government has put the lucrative Bosphorus bridges and major state highways back on sale 14 years after cancelling a similar tender. The move comes as medium-term plans include significantly higher privatization revenue in the coming years.
INFLATION HITS TURKEY'S TOURISM ENGINE
Turkey's tourism industry, long considered an economic powerhouse, is struggling to achieve expected revenue growth this year as inflation drives up costs and diverts customers elsewhere.
CONFISCATION ECONOMY: THE PURGE THAT PAYS
Ten years after the failed coup, the crackdown on Gülenist-owned businesses has become a revenue stream: the state has collected $1.5 billion from selling off seized firms — and the state fund managing them has grown into one of the country's largest conglomerates, its reach now extending far beyond the Gülenists.
SELÇUK BAYRAKTAR AGAIN TURKEY'S TOP TAXPAYER
The Revenue Administration has announced the top income taxpayers in 2024, with most names once again kept confidential. For the fourth year in a row, Baykar Chair of the Board Selçuk Bayraktar, who is also President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, ranked first, paying 2.77 billion lira in income tax.
BAYKAR SHOWCASES NEW KAMIKAZE DRONES
Drone factories will be established in all 81 provinces with the revenue generated from SAHA 2026.
KONUKSEVERLİK
Here at the tail end of the tourist season, the word of the week writes itself: konukseverlik, hospitality, or, in its Ottoman-tinted oldspeak, misafirperverlik. Every guidebook swears Turks are preternaturally welcoming; the national branding machine isn’t shy about it either. Yet while “hospitality” is the country’s trusty calling card, the numbers are more than brochure copy. Turkey received 23.6 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2025, marking an increase of 15.9% year-on-year, as tourism revenues hit a record $24.6 billion. By July, official arrivals had topped 31.2 million, the second-highest January–July tally on record.
U.S. TARGETS IRANIAN OIL NETWORK OPERATING VIA TURKEY, UAE AND HONG KONG
The United States has imposed sanctions on 22 entities linked to a shadow banking network accused of facilitating illicit oil trade on behalf of the Iranian regime. The network operates through front companies based in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong, funneling revenue to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), the U.S. State Department announced on July 9.
U.S. TARGETS IRANIAN OIL NETWORK OPERATING VIA TURKEY, UAE AND HONG KONG
The United States has imposed sanctions on 22 entities linked to a shadow banking network accused of facilitating illicit oil trade on behalf of the Iranian regime. The network operates through front companies based in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong, funneling revenue to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), the U.S. State Department announced on July 9.