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Tag: Turkey

  • KT&G Provides Earthquake Relief

    KT&G Provides Earthquake Relief

    Photo: Adin

    KT&G has donated TRY4.5 million ($238,390) to support earthquake victims and post-earthquake relief efforts in Turkey.

    KT&G delivered its donation through the Korean Red Cross on Feb. 10 to fund aid supplies and recovery activities in Turkey. The donation was collected in the form of a matching grant named KT&G Sangsang Fund, whereby the company matched the donations made by employees.

    KT&G has been reaching out with relief whenever a crisis has occurred in the local community over the past years. During the coronavirus crisis, KT&G secured 4,800 Covid-19 diagnostic kits from South Korea and donated them to hospitals in Istanbul in 2020 when the medical equipment was short in supply due to the pandemic situation. KT&G also provided the relief fund worth TRY700,00 when an earthquake hit Izmir in the same year.

    “We hope that this relief effort will be of some help to the people of Turkey, who have maintained a friendly relationship with Korea for a long time,” said Kim Kwan-joong, president of KT&G Turkey, in a statement. We will continue to carry out our activities of social contribution as a member of the Turkish community.”

    In 2007, KT&G invested approximately TRY700 million building its first overseas manufacturing plant in Izmir. Built on 145,000 square meters of land in Tire District, the facility exports to Europe and the Middle East.

  • Turkiye to Crack Down on Illicit Trade

    Turkiye to Crack Down on Illicit Trade

    Photo: Dzmitry

    Turkiye plans to crack down on illicit tobacco production and consumption, which cost the state an estimated TRY30 billion ($1.61 billion) in lost tax revenue, reports Daily Sabah.

    A draft bill set to be discussed at Parliament will bring prison terms of up to five years for people selling tobacco without licenses from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

    Illicit product is estimated to account for 20 percent of Turkey’s tobacco market. In 2021, some 35 billion cigarettes containing contraband tobacco were sold. This year, consumption is projected to reach about 50 billion.

    The majority of illicit trade comprises illegally produced, unlicensed tobacco sales, such as hand-rolled cigarettes, representing around 27 percent of Turkish cigarette consumption. Counterfeit or smuggled cigarettes, by contrast, constitute about 3 percent of the market.

    Authorities seized 4.7 million packages of smuggled cigarettes, 273 tons of tobacco products and 329,000 cigars during the first nine months of 2022, preventing a loss of TRY625 million in tobacco taxes, according to police data.

  • Turkey Raises Special Consumption Tax on Tobacco

    Turkey Raises Special Consumption Tax on Tobacco

    Photo: Rawf8

    Turkey has increased the special consumption tax on tobacco by 47.4 percent to TRY14.39 ($1.10) per pack, reports Bianet.

    The special consumption tax is based on the domestic producer price index. It is calculated both as a minimum fixed tax and a fixed tax. Each of these has been increased from TRY0.48 to TRY0.7 lira for a pack of cigarettes.

     The minimum price of a pack of cigarettes will be TRY22.85.