Why Are Car Taxes So High?
The issue of cars is one of the most sensitive topics for Turkish people, especially Turkish men. Cars hold a particularly important place for Turkish men. The best example of this is the interest shown in car fairs across our country. People from all walks of life and age groups follow these fairs with great interest. The economic situation is irrelevant here. Many people whose economic situation is not conducive to buying a car participate in these fairs due to their interest and attention to the subject.
Level of Knowledge Related to Automobiles
Our country's people may be among the few countries in the world in terms of knowledge related to vehicles. Information obtained from participation reports in fairs related to this subject shows that the participation rate of Istanbul residents in car fairs, in particular, surpasses that of many countries worldwide. Another proof of our interest in this subject is our expatriate citizens living abroad. Our citizens visiting our country for vacation make an effort to come with the latest model vehicles. They demonstrate their sensitivity to this matter in this way. It is known that vehicle prices in our country are quite expensive compared to other countries. The sole reason for this is the state taxes applied to vehicles. In this sense, vehicle prices in our country are considerably higher than vehicle prices in other countries. For a car priced at 50,000 TL, the SCT tax applied is approximately 45,000 TL. With this tax, the car price becomes 95,000 TL. After other taxes and procedures are completed, the car price is offered for sale at 115,000 TL. As can be seen from this example, approximately 70,000 TL of tax burden is imposed on a car with an initial cost of 45,000 TL.
Why Are Taxes So High in Some Countries?
This practice is implemented in this way not only in our country but also in some other countries. The primary reason for this is that some countries are not production-oriented societies and lack any natural wealth. In our country, production is very low, and consumption is significantly high. Since the state cannot secure the country's resources from any underground sources or production, it feels the necessity to impose taxes. As the production rate increases, these prices will decrease. Our country has lagged far behind in the world, especially in car manufacturing. This causes an increase in vehicle prices. Our country is unable to be active in this regard because it cannot compete with vehicles from other countries. The work on our country producing a vehicle is currently a prominent topic on the agenda.
