Unit values form the basis of real estate taxes in Turkey (duplicated article 49 of Tax Procedural Law number 213). Real estate valuations are valid for four year periods and during each period, the valuation is annually re-calculated and increased, based on the revaluation rate for each year. Under recent changes, if the 2018 unit value exceeds the 2017 value by more than 50%, calculating the tax values for 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 will be done by increasing the 2017 unit value by 50%.
Calculation methods are described in a General Communiqué in detail, with examples. If the 2018 unit values exceed half the 2017 value, these values will not be taken into account. If a unit value was not determined for 2017 or cannot be found for any reason, the calculation will be made on the basis of unit values determined for 2018.
Provisional Article 23 was added to Real Estate Tax Law number 1319, by Article 35 of the Law Regarding Amendment on Certain Tax Laws and Other Laws, published in Official Gazette number 30261 on 28 November 2017, entering into effect on the same date. The Ministry of Economy has announced a separate Communiqué outlining calculation methods. The General Communiqué on Real Estate Tax Law (Serial number 72) was published in the Official Gazette number 30282. Please see this link for the full text of the Law and this link for the full text of the Communiqué (only available in Turkish).
Real Estate Zoning and Permitting Authority Centralizes
Main Legal Principles
Zoning and planning are realized by virtue of administrative acts of governmental or municipal authorities. Just like all administrative acts, the common interest of the public (“public interest”) is a pre-condition for zoning and permitting activities. As per the Council of State’s precedents, the concept of public interest must be assessed by taking into account the conformance with regional conditions; feasibility with regard to local, environmental, social, and economic conditions; satisfaction of future demands and urban regeneration; convenience with the provincial needs of the relevant city; and technical applicability.
Zoning and permitting legislation is based on a hierarchy of scales. The zoning plan with a higher scale always prevails over a smaller scaled zoning plan, and construction permits are issued based on the smallest scaled zoning plans, known as implementation plans, which then constitute the basis for the construction and occupancy permit. It is therefore critical that all of the plans and the permits be in conformance with one another.
Zoning plans
Zoning plans are classified according to their scale under the Zoning Code,[1] and the types of zoning plans in ascending order are as follows:
- Master Zoning Plans: These 1/100,000 and lower scaled zoning plans are prepared for large metropolitan areas, and define the zoning function of huge areas like highways, railways, airways, seaways, power plants, dams, and channels.
- Environmental Zoning Plans: These 1/50,000 to 1/25,000 scaled zoning plans indicate the zoning classifications of various districts within a city or a region.
- Development Plans: These 1/5,000 scaled zoning plans show the main roads and parcels, with the general construction terms and zoning classifications assigned to each parcel.
- Implementation Plans: These 1/1,000 scaled zoning plans provide all parcels and zoned roads as well as information about the construction terms such as zoning status, height limitations, set-backs, construction coefficient, construction base area coefficient, etc.
Sources: lexology.com and mondaq.com
