Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has announced a major package of measures that will allow citizens and companies to bring their overseas assets back to Turkey with minimal tax burden. He made the statement during the “Türkiye Century – Strong Center for Investment” program.
“We are giving everyone the opportunity to bring money, gold, and securities held abroad into Türkiye within a specified period at a low tax rate,” Erdoğan emphasized.
The President noted that businesses and ordinary citizens are currently navigating constant uncertainty. “On one hand, everyone is closely watching the rapidly changing global atmosphere, while on the other they are trying to find their way through thick fog. The negative effects of conflicts are being deeply felt not only in energy but also in production, trade, tourism, and transportation. We see this in everything from fuel prices changing several times a week to restrictions reminiscent of the coronavirus days. Although the intensity of the fire has subsided, neither our region nor the world can be 100% certain about the future of tensions.”
Despite these external challenges, Türkiye is already preparing the country for the new era — developing strategies, building infrastructure, and leaving no gaps whatsoever.
Turkey Set to Become a Global Magnet for Investments
Erdoğan stated that the country is taking legal, administrative, financial, and institutional steps to boost competitiveness, ensure sustainable high growth, and attract direct foreign investment. A comprehensive legislative package will soon be submitted to Parliament to make Turkey even more attractive to global capital.
Istanbul Financial Center (IFC) Gets New Super Incentives
Work on the Istanbul Financial Center began in 2009 with the goal of creating a modern financial sector aligned with global markets. The center is now making steady progress toward the targets set 17 years ago.
New move: expansion of tax benefits for all institutions operating in the IFC. Income from transit trade and intermediation in international goods purchase and sale will now be fully exempt from corporate tax (previously a 50% discount applied). For the first time, this incentive is being extended outside the IFC as well — companies engaged in transit trade outside the center will have 95% of their income exempt from tax.
Global Companies Encouraged to Move Regional Headquarters to Türkiye
Special conditions are being offered to international corporations that relocate their regional management centers to Türkiye. For the next 20 years, 100% of profits earned inside the IFC and 95% of profits earned outside it will be deductible from the tax base. Qualified employees of these companies will also receive tax exemptions on their salaries under certain conditions.
One-Stop Shop for Investors
A “One-Stop Office” (Tek-Durak-Büro) is being established under the coordination of the Presidential Investment and Finance Office. All procedures — from company registration and work/residence permits to taxes, social security, employment, land allocation, incentives, and environmental approvals — will be handled quickly, simply, and digitally in a single location.
Major Tax Cuts for Exporters
Corporate tax for manufacturing exporters is being reduced from 25% to 9%, and for other exporters to 14%. This is the most radical step the government has taken in recent years to support high-value and competitive exports.
20-Year Tax Holidays for New Residents
Individuals who have not been tax residents of Turkey in the last 3 years and who move to the country will pay taxes only on income earned inside Türkiye for the next 20 years. All foreign-source income will be completely tax-free. Inheritance tax for such persons will be set at just 1%.
Full Tax Exemption for IT Entrepreneurs and Freelancers
Previously, 80% of income from foreign clients in architecture, engineering, and software was tax-exempt. Now 100% of such income will be exempt from both personal income tax and corporate tax. This is a powerful incentive for entrepreneurs who have already set up or own shares in companies abroad to bring their earnings back to Turkey.
Turkey to Become a Regional Hub for Startups
A fully digital system for company registration and management is being introduced, stock option programs for employees are being made more attractive and effective, and convertible debt mechanisms are being simplified to ease access to financing. The first phase of the Terminal Istanbul project is being launched to create powerful entrepreneurship infrastructure.
Guarantees for Large Strategic Investments
For strategically important large-scale and high-quality investments, a project-based guarantee system will be introduced to minimize the impact of any future tax law changes after the investment decision is made, with clear transition periods.
Erdoğan concluded his speech with confidence: “With God’s permission, Türkiyey’s future, horizon, and path are wide open. Temporary difficulties and external fluctuations may occur, but today the Turkish economy has the strength, capacity, and resilience to absorb even larger shocks than before.”
All details of the new laws will soon be shared by the economic team with businesses and investors, after which parliamentary work will begin promptly.