Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the 5th Turkish-Bahraini Joint Economic Commission meeting in the Bahraini capital city of Manama on Friday, the minister was critical of recent news stories on the issue, saying these articles were largely speculative. “We plan to complete the studies for a new system, but until then, we want investors to not give credit to rumors on the issue,” he said. Şimşek further noted that the Finance Ministry would announce the outcome of the studies as soon as they reach a reasonable solution.
Rumors in the markets claim the ministry will set the withholding tax rates at around 5 percent for both domestic and foreign investors. The Constitutional Court ruled against the current regulations on the grounds of unequal treatment. The current regulations require domestic investors to pay a 10 percent tax on what they earned in their portfolio investments while it imposes no tax on foreigners as a means of attracting their capital.
