Minister of Treasury and Cost Mehmet Şimşek answered the questions of AK Party MPs on the fight against informal economy and tax issues.
Reminding that the lowest VAT is on bread, Şimşek said, “Have you ever seen what a baker gives you? 1 percent is condescended to. “The places where there is the most tax evasion and where no taxes are collected are bakers,” he said.
According to the news of Türkiye newspaper; Mehmet Şimşek also presented a striking picture while explaining the issue of tax evasion.
Şimşek said, ”One of our citizens bought 32 flats in one of the metropolitan cities, but we do not have a tax record. He has never filed a declaration in his life. We have thousands of citizens who buy luxury vehicles for 65 million lira during the year. We call and say ‘explain’ but there is no explanation. “We say, ‘Prove that you earned this money,’ but he cannot prove it,” he said.
MEMORY OF THE BARBER
Minister Şimşek also shared with the MPs an incident that a friend of his had experienced at the barbershop.
* My friend goes to a barbershop in a luxurious district in Istanbul, and the price is 2,500 liras. They don’t take payment by card. When my friend says, ‘I don’t have any cash on me,’ the shopkeeper replies, ‘The ATM is nearby.’
* The hairdresser tells my friend, who thinks he has been tricked by exorbitant prices, to send an IBAN this time. The bank manager says, ‘If it belongs to the company or you, I can send it.’ But the hairdresser says that the IBAN belongs to his brother. This time my friend said, ‘An IBAN owner can be a terrorist or a fugitive. “Take it from the card, otherwise I’m leaving,” he says, but the shopkeeper puts a commission of 500 liras on it and withdraws it from the POS.
* We went to that shop for inspection. No one came for a week. Because he called his customers and told them not to come. It’s a matter of mentality. They all want cash or 20-25 percent commission. I have 5,500 audit personnel in finance. How many doctors, dentists, hairdressers, lawyers are there in the country?
