Amid Turkey’s consideration of a ban on cash transactions above 7,000 Turkish liras ($205), the community is wondering whether such restrictions have any implications for cryptocurrency.
The Turkish Revenue Administration on Sept. 9 opened a public draft consultation on amendments to the General Communiqué on Tax Procedure Law number 459.
The amendments proposed to set major restrictions on cash payments, requiring consumers and merchants to process all payments above $205 through banks or financial institutions.
Source: BPT (Translated by Google)
Local publications suggest that those who violate the rules by paying with cash for all purchases exceeding $205 would be fined 10% of the payment amount for each transaction. The fine to be imposed on the end-consumer cannot be less than 5,000 liras ($147).
The Revenue Administration will continue developing the draft amendments and is open for public feedback until Sept. 13.
Turkey has already banned payments with cryptocurrency
Should the amendments be passed, the new regulations would likely have little or no impact on crypto as Turkey has already banned crypto payments, according to local crypto experts and lawyers.
“Cryptocurrencies cannot legally be used as a means of payment,” Meric Paldimoglu, the founder of the Paldimoglu Law Firm in Turkey, told Cointelegraph.
The lawyer referred to regulations by Turkey’s Central Bank, which prohibited the use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) for payment purposes in April 2021. Paldimoglu stated:
“In fact, the purpose of this regulation is similar to the idea to prevent the use of cryptocurrencies for payments, which is to reduce the underground economy.”
Paldimoglu noted that he is unaware of any similar cash payment limits being practiced in other jurisdictions worldwide.
Local cryptocurrency mentor Ismail Hakki Polat agreed that the potential new laws are unlikely to have a direct impact on crypto.
Related: UK gov’t introduces bill to clarify crypto’s legal status
“Since the Turkish Central Bank prohibited the use of crypto in payments, it should not have a direct impact,” Polat stated.
Turkey is working hard to increase tax revenues
According to Paldimoglu, the reason for measures like the $205 cash payment limit aim to increase tax revenues and make the economy more transparent.
The moves are particularly crucial in the aftermath of the Financial Action Task Force removing Turkey from the money laundering “gray list” in June 2024, pushing the country to increase tax penalties and improve tax collection, the lawyer said.
In its growing efforts to better regulate crypto and improve the budget, Turkey introduced a 0.03% tax on crypto transactions in June 2024. In August, the Turkish Capital Markets Board reported that crypto firms have increasingly applied for licenses under Turkey’s new crypto regulations.
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