Income obtained digitally to be taxed

Considering the digital marketplace is a workplace in and of itself, the Finance Ministry will consider those who post ads on Twitter and other sites as taxpayers.

According to news reported by Habertürk daily, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said the current tax laws do not cover e-commerce in its entirety but they will create new regulations with an updated tax procedure law. According to Ağbal, work that is conducted electronically will be considered equivalent to work done in a physical workplace. Therefore, if someone earns money electronically via the Internet, they will be considered taxpayers. In this way, e-commerce, which generates income, will be taxed, Ağbal said, and whoever earns money through an online service will be considered taxpayers in this view.

Speaking to reporters, Ağbal said online services will now be defined as "areas" and counted as an official "workplace." If, in some way, someone provide online services and earn money, they will be considered taxpayers henceforth. The Ministry of Finance recently brought the tax procedure draft law to the public's attention. In order for e-commerce to be fully understood, a new article titled "Online Workplace" has been added to existing regulation. Accordingly, in the case of the allocation of a telecommunication environment or tool such as the Internet, extranet or intranet to an industrial or occupational activity or their usage in these activities, the digital space will be considered a "workplace." Apart from e-commerce, the ads posted on social media will be included within the ministerial framework.

Social media has recently become an exit door for companies seeking to promote their products and services and for the users who want to earn easy money. Famous figures, bloggers and popular social media users are earning millions in a single day from their tweets. Product placement on popular apps like Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat reach thousands of people within seconds. The users with the largest number of followers earn the highest bid. The income earned from just one post starts from TL 2,000 ($673). The price may increase in parallel with the amount of likes a post gets.