Turkey's automotive sector, considered to be the country's economic locomotive, paid up more than TL 59 billion ($16.60 billion) in taxes last year.

Finance Minister Naci Ağbal pointed out these figures about the sector at the Authorized Automotive Dealers Association Congress last April. Calling the automotive sector an important source of income, Ağbal said, in 2016, they obtained TL 18.9 billion in excise duty, TL 10-15 billion in VAT, TL 10 billion in motor vehicle taxes, TL 10-15 billion in income tax, SGK and withholding.

Among the main tax items collected on motor vehicles in Turkey were excise duties, VAT, and annual motor vehicle taxes. The tax revenues from automotive sector rise significantly, when including the excise duty on fuel oil, Resource Utilization Support Fund (KKDF) and Banking and Insurance Transaction Tax (BSMV) from vehicle loans, BSMV within the scope of traffic insurance and auto insurance, and VAT from the inspection and annual maintenance costs.

The automotive sector is an important source of revenue not only in Turkey, but also in many other countries. For example, in Japan, the total amount of tax obtained from the automotive sector accounts for 10 percent of total tax revenues. $135 billion worth of tax collected from the automotive sector in the U.S. corresponds to 13 percent of the total amount.

Taxes from the sales of motor vehicles and indirectly from the fuel used by the sector in India constitute 8 percent of its total tax collection.

In Turkey, excise duty accrued on sales of vehicles in 2016 amounted to 15 percent of the total amount of excise duty. In the providing the highest excise duties, automotive sector, with TL 18.9 billion, was only second to the oil and natural gas sector.