Valuable house tax can be delayed for a year: Gov’t

The Turkish government is set to reevaluate the recently imposed "valuable house tax" for one year, following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's instructions, his spokesperson has said.

"There will be works regarding the valuable house tax in to following days. A year of delay can be in question," İbrahim Kalın, presidential advisor and spokesperson, told a press conference after the cabinet meeting late on Dec. 24.

Kalın said that Erdoğan had ordered reviews of the tax, and after receiving evaluations from several institutions, he gave the directives for a reassessment.

"But after the works are carried out, they will be presented to Mr. President. After that, when it is fully completed, a decision will be made," Kalın said.

"We want to express our interest in the reviews, criticisms and calls regarding this. For this, works have started with the instruction of our president," he added.

The Turkish Parliament on Nov. 21 ratified a law that brings new regulations to the country's tax system. The ratified law has proposed two new taxes, one of which is referred to as the "valuable house tax."

As the law took effect on Dec. 7, the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre started to issue notices to property owners whose estates are in upscale neighborhoods, the daily Hürriyet reported on Dec. 14.

According to the valuable house tax regulation, landlords whose property is valued between 5-7.5 million Turkish Liras (approximately $1.27 million) will pay a 0.3 percent tax. The amount of tax imposed on properties which have a market value between 7.5-10 million liras (roughly $1.7 million) is stipulated as 0.6 percent in the regulation. Besides these, the tax...