Banks top corporate taxpayers list

ANKARA-Demirören News Agency

Six Turkish banks, including the country’s Central Bank, state-owned lenders Ziraat and Vakıflar, as well as private banks Garanti, İşbank and Yapı ve Kredi; were among the top 10 corporate taxpayers in 2018, according to a list announced on Nov. 20 by the Revenue Administration.

A total of 85 billion Turkish Liras (around $15 billion) of corporate tax was accrued last year out of the declared 431 billion liras of taxable income.

According to data from the Revenue Administration, the Central Bank of Turkey paid the highest corporate tax in Turkey with 10.62 billion liras roughly ($1.86 billion), followed by state-owned lender Ziraat Bankası with 2.43 billion liras ($780 million).

Private lender Garanti Bankası paid 1.56 billion liras ($270 billion) in corporate tax, claiming the third spot in the list.

Işbank, one of the country’s largest lenders by asset, ranked fourth with 1.3 billion liras ($230 billion) of tax paid.

Another state-owned lender Vakıfbank was the eighth largest taxpayer with 940 million liras, followed by Yapı Kredi, which is a joint venture between local conglomerate Koç Holding and Italian UniCredit Group, with 754 million liras.

QNB Finansbank ranked 13th (621 million liras), and participation bank Kuveyt Türk ranked 14th with 454 million liras.

Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) ranked fifth in the list as it paid 1.3 billion liras in corporate tax in 2018.

Steelmakers İskenderun Demir Çelik and Ereğli Demir Çelik were sixth- and seventh-highest corporate taxpayers with 1.2 billion liras and 966 million liras, respectively.

Mining company Eti Maden ranked 10th in the list with 695 million liras.

Electric transmission company Türkiye Elektrik İletim paid 634 million liras in corporate tax last year, ranking 12th.

Some 49 companies among the top 100 corporate taxpayers were Istanbul based while 14 companies were based in the capital Ankara. The western province of İzmir was home to three companies in the top 100 list.

The Revenue Administration also said two individuals, who requested anonymity, took the first two spots in the top income taxpayers’ category.

Rahmi Koç, the honorary chairman of Koç Holding, ranked third. Koç paid a total of 54.2 million liras ($9.5 million) in income tax last year.

Şarık Tara, who passed away last year, ranked fourth with 36 million liras. Tara was the highest taxpayer in 2017.

Erman Ilıcak, chairman of Rönesans Holding, climbed seven spots from 2017 to claim the fifth space in the 2018 list with 35 million liras.