Varlık Vergisi

Varlık Vergisi ("wealth tax" or "capital tax") was a Turkish tax levied on citizens of Turkey in 1942, with the stated aim of raising funds for the country's defense in case of an eventual entry into World War II. However, it is accepted that the underlying reason for the tax was to inflict financial ruin on the minority non-Muslim citizens of the country, terminate their prominence in the country's economy and move the assets of non-Muslims into the hands of the Muslim bourgeoisie. It can be defined as the last application of the jizya (cizye) tax on non-Muslims in Turkish history, and the only such application after the establishment of the constitutionally secular Turkish Republic in 1923; breaching the articles regarding secularism and citizen equality in the Turkish Constitution.

The bill for the one-off tax was proposed by the Şükrü Saracoğlu government, and the act was adopted by the Turkish parliament on November 11, 1942. It was imposed on the fixed assets, such as landed estates, building owners, real estate brokers, businesses, and industrial enterprises of all citizens, but especially targeted the minorities. Those who suffered most severely were non-Muslims like the Jews, Greeks, Armenians, and Levantines, who controlled a large portion of the economy, though it was the Armenians who were most heavily taxed.

The tax was supposed to be paid by all citizens of Turkey, but inordinately higher rates were imposed on the country's non-Muslim inhabitants, in an arbitrary and predatory way. Because those forced to pay the bulk of the taxes were exclusively non-Muslims, the law was perceived by the public as a "jizya - kafir tax" against them. These taxes led to the destruction of the remaining non-Muslim merchant class in Turkey, the lives and finances of many non-Muslim families were ruined. In addition, the law was also applied to the many poor non-Muslims such as drivers, workers and even beggars, whereas their Muslim counterparts were not obliged to pay any tax.

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Wikipedia