AHMET ARAS CALLS FOR "TAX JUSTICE" FOR TOURISM CITIES
Ahmet Aras, the President of the Coastal Aegean Municipalities Union and Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, emphasized the need for a tourism tax in Turkey, similar to practices in Europe, to meet the increasing service burden in tourism cities.
Ahmet Aras, the President of the Coastal Aegean Municipalities Union and Muğla Metropolitan Municipality, drew attention to the financial imbalances faced by tourism cities, stating that a "tourism tax" should also be implemented in Turkey.
According to the Ekonomi newspaper, Aras, speaking at the general assembly meeting where the 2024 activities of the İller Bankası were discussed, stated that municipal budgets in cities such as Antalya, Muğla, and Aydın are severely strained due to the large difference between summer and winter populations. "Our expenditures during the season reach three to five times our income. This is not sustainable," Aras said, emphasizing that the daily per-tourist tax system implemented in Europe should also be put on the agenda in Turkey.
Ahmet Aras also stated that the tax centers of companies operating in sectors such as tourism, construction, and maritime are mostly located in other cities, which reduces the income shares of the regions where production takes place. "Fair sharing of tax revenues should be ensured. Income is generated here, but the tax is paid in another city," he said.
