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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a broad package of tax incentives at a ceremony in Istanbul on Friday, pledging to transform Türkiye into what he called a global center of attraction for international capital, trade and talent.
The measures, which are to be submitted to parliament, include dramatic reductions in corporate tax rates for exporters and manufacturers, near-total exemptions on transit trade income, and a 20-year tax holiday for foreign residents relocating to the country.
Speaking at the Dolmabahce Working Office in Istanbul during the "Türkiye Century Strong Center for Investment Program" event, Erdogan framed the announcements against a backdrop of global uncertainty, citing the lingering economic disruptions of regional conflicts and shifting international trade patterns.
"Every business and economic circle is trying to find its way and direction through a thick fog," he said, adding that the effects of ongoing conflicts were being felt deeply across energy, production, trade, tourism and transportation.
Erdogan argued that the conventional description of Türkiye as a bridge between east and west no longer captures the country's strategic weight. Türkiye, he said, is not merely a corridor but "the indispensable base of the energy and trade corridors of the region."
He described the country as one of the strongest candidates to become a new pole in a multipolar world order, and said the government was already laying the legal, administrative and institutional groundwork for that role.
The Istanbul Finance Centre, a major financial district on the Asian side of Istanbul that was formally inaugurated in 2023 after planning began in 2009, served as a focal point of the announcement.
The complex hosts Türkiye's leading financial institutions, including the Central Bank, Borsa Istanbul and key regulatory agencies, and has been positioned by Ankara as a regional rival to established hubs such as Dubai and London.
The centerpiece of the fiscal package is a steep reduction in the corporate tax rate for manufacturing exporters, from the current general rate of 25 percent down to 9 percent. Other exporting companies will benefit from a reduced rate of 14 percent.
Both figures represent a significant departure from the existing system, under which exporters had been receiving only a 5-percentage-point reduction and manufacturers an additional 1-point discount on the standard rate.
On transit trade, Erdogan said the existing 50 percent income deduction on profits from transit commerce and cross-border trading intermediation would be raised to 100 percent, effectively eliminating corporate tax on such earnings for companies operating within the Istanbul Finance Centre. For companies outside the centre engaging in transit trade, 95 percent of those profits will be excluded from taxable corporate income.
The same 95-to-100-percent exemption framework will apply to earnings from regional headquarters operations managed out of Türkiye, covering a period of 20 years. Qualified employees working at eligible companies will also benefit from a wage exemption under certain conditions.
Among the most eye-catching measures is a provision targeting wealthy individuals and professionals living abroad. Persons who have not been tax residents of Türkiye for the past three years and who choose to relocate to the country will pay no Turkish tax on their foreign-source income and capital gains for a period of 20 years.
Only income earned domestically would be subject to taxation. Erdogan also announced that inheritance and gift tax for such individuals would be set at a flat rate of 1 percent.
The government additionally signaled plans to allow Turkish citizens and companies to repatriate assets held abroad, including cash, gold and securities, within a set window and at a reduced tax rate, in a bid to channel overseas wealth back into the domestic economy.
To streamline the investment process, Erdogan announced the creation of a single-stop bureau, to be coordinated by the Presidential Investment and Finance Office, that will consolidate all administrative procedures, from company registration and work permits to tax filings, land incentives and environmental impact approvals, into a single digital platform.
Officials from relevant agencies will be stationed at the bureau.
The full legislative package is to be submitted to parliament in the near term, Erdogan said, without specifying an exact date.
He described the measures collectively as a "radical step" and expressed confidence that Türkiye was positioned to attract large-scale international direct investment in the period ahead, saying the government was "determined to make Türkiye a global center of attraction."
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