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Finance Ministry Targets Social Media Auctioneers in 1 Billion Lira

10 articles | Updated 5h ago | Created 6h ago
TURKEY TRANSLATED
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The Turkish Republic of Turkey's Financial Affairs ministry has launched a major operation against online auction platforms, uncovering tax evasion totaling approximately one billion lira through social media auctions that previously operated in the shadows for years to avoid scrutiny by inspectors and prosecutors who were unaware they had been targeted until now; officials revealed on March 15th alone over five hundred million liras of untaxed sales across various digital marketplaces have since come under investigation, with some sellers having mistakenly believed their activities remained...

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    The Turkish Finance Ministry has begun monitoring individuals who organize auctions on social media platforms.
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    Authorities have detected approximately €50 million to $1 billion in tax evasion through these online auction activities, with some reports citing billions of lira lost due to off-the-books sales.
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    Tax inspectors are actively investigating the use of 'open sale' (açık artırma) mechanisms on social media for illegal trade.
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    The Ministry is specifically targeting sellers who believed they could evade taxes by using digital platforms, leading them into a legal trap.
[Mar 15] Finance Minister stated that social media auction organizers are now under the Finance Ministry's radar and facing investigation for tax evasion ranging from hundreds of millions to billions in lira value, with specific figures including €30 million (€64M) or $279.8 billion depending on source context.