Erdem said, “Since VAT is 1 per cent in food inputs and 8 per cent in food sales, accommodation facilities and restaurant businesses have to pay the difference. In order for our people to have cheaper access to food, we demand that the 1 per cent rate applied to food products also apply to Accommodation Sector and Food and Beverage Establishments sales. VAT reductions that are not reflected in product costs come as a burden to businesses in the form of VAT payments. The VAT difference of 7 per cent is deducted from the earnings of our businesses every month. We want the VAT rate in the service sectors such as hotels, restaurants, etc., which have predominant input of food products, to be re-evaluated and reduced to 1%. I believe that it would be beneficial to reduce the VAT in these sectors, which was reduced to 1% for a period during the pandemic period in order to protect and support the consumer, to 1% again for the same reasons, in order to support the protection of the consumer and the sector. Otherwise, the burden of VAT reductions, which are not reflected in product costs, will continue to burden businesses in the form of VAT payments.”
“TAX BURDEN WAS 9.75 WITH ACCOMMODATION TAX AND TOURISM CONTRIBUTION SHARE”
In his statement, Erdem underlined that while the negative effects arising from the VAT disproportion continued, an additional 2 percent accommodation tax was introduced on 1 January 2023, and with the ongoing Tourism Contribution Share, the sector representatives had to carry a new burden of 9.75 percent, albeit indirectly.
WE WILL CONVEY THE SITUATION TO OUR TOBB PRESIDENT AND OUR ESTEEMED MINISTER
Erdem stated that, “We will present these estimated views and expectations in a report to our Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who is always interested in our region’s challenges, and to our TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu.”
