The Ministry of Finance has once again put another sector under scrutiny as part of its tax audits.

The Ministry of Treasury and Finance has accelerated tax audits for those earning income from services such as life coaching, mentoring, meditation, mindfulness, and therapy, which have recently become widespread, especially through social media. The Ministry, which continuously monitors earnings from social media and digital platforms, is identifying those who leave these incomes unreported one by one.

CONSULTING SERVICES UNDER SCRUTINY

Consulting services that have rapidly grown and spread through social media recently have also come under scrutiny. A study has been initiated against those who earn income from activities such as individual consulting, coaching, training, theta healing (subconscious therapy technique), mentoring, meditation, mindfulness, therapy, and doula (birth supporter) but do not report or report insufficiently. As a result of comparing the declarations and notifications of taxpayers whose bank account transactions are checked, inconsistencies were found between the information regarding the services provided and the tax declarations. In the first phase, the Ministry is conducting audits for those operating in this field in 2022-2023, revealing unreported earnings.

EASIER TAXATION FOR SOCIAL MEDIA EARNINGS HAS BEEN INTRODUCED

Identifying that those earning income on social media do not show sufficient compliance in fulfilling their tax obligations such as bookkeeping and document preparation, the Ministry has introduced an easier taxation method for these earnings.

Legal regulations have been made regarding the earnings of social content producers who share content such as text, images, sound, and video through the internet and similar electronic environments. Since the beginning of this year, an easier taxation method has been developed for earnings obtained from services such as individual courses, training, and product promotion through the internet and similar electronic environments.

OPENING A BANK ACCOUNT IS MANDATORY

According to the introduced method, those earning income from these platforms are required to obtain an exemption certificate from the tax office and open a bank account. A 15% income tax withholding is applied by banks on the money deposited into these accounts, and as long as the income obtained from these activities does not exceed 3 million lira for the year 2024, the withholding becomes the final tax. If the earnings exceed 3 million lira, an annual declaration is submitted.

THOSE WHO COMPLY WILL PAY LESS PENALTY

Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek stated that they are working to ensure that no area or service sector remains unregulated for taxation. While taking steps to increase tax awareness and compliance, Şimşek noted that audits will continue in the fight against the informal economy, emphasizing that increasing fairness and efficiency in taxation is a fundamental principle.

Şimşek made the following assessment: In these audits, taxpayers who earn unreported income are being invited to explain. We will direct the improvement in tax revenues to productive areas for the welfare of our citizens and the stability of our country. Taxpayers who declare their unreported income during the explanation invitation process will pay less penalty, while non-compliant taxpayers will be subject to tax examination.