Ankara plans to lure back capital deposited abroad by Turks in new scheme
ANKARA
Ankara is working on a new cash repatriation law to bring Turkish citizens’ assets abroad back to the country, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal has said.
“We want to encourage our citizens abroad to bring their assets back into Turkey,” Ağbal told state-run Anadolu Agency on May 9.
“We are about to launch a new cash repatriation scheme. Through this plan we will ease the path for our citizens who want to bring their assets back to their own country” he added.
If Turkish citizens bring their cash, gold or foreign exchange-denominated assets back into Turkey by the end of November this year, they will able to save these assets in any way they choose, Ağbal said.
“We will charge only 3 percent of these assets as taxes in the initial stage. They will be able pay this amount until the end of 2018. Our citizens will be able to bring their assets back to Turkey in a three-month period after their announcement,” he said, adding that these citizens would not face any tax examination if they pledge to use the money to finance their corporations.
“If they pull their money from corporate accounts in the future we will not charge any dividend tax on them, letting our citizens save this money,” Ağbal also noted.
A cash repatriation law came into force in 2008 with the aim of “creating resources for investments that can resolve production, employment and inflation issues, maintain the economic revival, provide financial resources to overcome the global economic crisis with minimum damage, and reinforce enterprises’ capital structures.”
Similar regulations were also passed in 2013 and 2016.
