The average monthly income declared in tax returns submitted exceeded TL 1,000 only in four cities -- İstanbul, Ankara, Bursa and Balıkesir -- at between TL 1,034 and TL 1,429, and remained between TL 163 and TL 956 in the majority of the country, despite the fact that the professions that are subject to pay taxes based on their declared income levels are deemed to earn the highest amount in society.Contrary to the low levels of income declared by self-employed income earners last year, the monthly salaries of wage earners were generally higher. Monthly earnings of a newly qualified wage-earning doctor amounted to TL 1,789 in the first half of last year, and this figure had risen to TL 1,869 by the second half of the year. Furthermore, a senior engineer was also able to earn TL 2,073 per month in the January-June period of 2009, a figure that was up to TL 2,166 in the following six-month period. A lawyer’s monthly earnings also amounted to TL 2,362 by the end of last year, while wages of an undersecretary and a general manager totaled TL 4,546 and TL 4,153 during this period. The minimum wage was TL 546.48 in the second half of 2009.
According to GİB data, 430,136 taxpayers prepared a tax return on their earnings in 2009 in İstanbul, declaring a total income of TL 7.38 billion, on which TL 2.11 billion of tax was levied. A total of 121,356 taxpayers filed their tax returns for last year in Ankara. The amount of income declared was TL 1.71 billion in the country’s capital city, and the income tax levied amounted to TL 462.52 million. In İzmir, Turkey’s third largest city, the number of taxpayers submitting tax returns for 2009 was 117,660 and a total of TL 332.56 million in taxes was levied on the declared income of TL 1.32 billion.
İstanbul took the first spot on the list of highest average income per taxpayer in 2009. The average annual income declared by taxpayers in the country’s financial and trade center was TL 17,151, with an annual average income tax of TL 4,902. Annual average income per taxpayer amounted to TL 14,122 in Ankara, TL 12,615 in Bursa, 12,408 in Balıkesir, TL 11,467 in Eskişehir, TL 11,236 in Manisa, TL 11,181 in İzmir, TL 10,898 in Kahramanmaraş, TL 10,892 in Trabzon and TL 10,889 in Muğla.
The figures revealed that average monthly earnings declared in tax returns last year exceeded TL 1,000 only in four cities out of a total of 81. According to their declarations, taxpayers in İstanbul earned TL 1,429 each month on average last year, while this figure was TL 1,177 in Ankara, TL 1,051 in Bursa and TL 1,034 in Balıkesir.
Self-employed taxpayers in the remaining 77 cities, on the other hand, declared a monthly income below TL 1,000 on average. This figure was TL 932 in İzmir, TL 901 in Kayseri, TL 736 in Antalya and TL 956 in Eskişehir, the GİB data showed. With an average monthly income of TL 163, Şırnak was the city with the lowest declared income, followed by Mardin and Iğdır, with average monthly earnings of TL 254 and TL 379, respectively. In the same period, taxpayers in Hakkari declared a monthly income of TL 736 on average, and the average of those in Tunceli amounted to TL 729.
According to their declarations, İstanbul-based self-employed taxpayers paid a monthly income tax of TL 409 on average, while this figure was TL 398 in Ankara, TL 262 in Bursa, TL 248 in Balıkesir, TL 173 in Antalya, TL 178 in Hakkari, TL 228 in Kayseri, TL 153 in Konya, TL 216 in Zonguldak, TL 125 in Şanlıurfa, TL 153 in Diyarbakır and TL 32 in Şırnak.
