With the Additional Article 13 added to the Environment Law in 2018, a regulation was made regarding the pricing of plastic shopping bags. This regulation came into effect on January 1, 2019, and the bags, which could be purchased free of charge in the markets beforehand, started to be sold for 25 cents each as of this date.
The 25 cents fixed fee for the bags, determined by the Ministry, has not been updated despite the intervening years. So, will the bag prices go up, especially by being affected by the price increases we have experienced this year? The answer to this question is Tax Specialist Dr. Given by Ozan Bingol.
The tax that will cause the bag prices to increase:
Ozan Bingöl, who shared an article on his blog, stated that 15 kuruş of the 25 kuruş fee for the bags started to be transferred to the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate under the name of “recycling contribution fee”. The contribution share, which is called the ‘bag tax’ in the public, has changed over the years, even if the fee for the bag has not changed. 25 cents bag
- 15 cents in 2019,
- 18 cents in 2020 and
- In 2021, 19 kurus recovery contribution was received.
If we look at the tax increase, is it possible for the bag fee to stay at 25 cents?
In the Additional Article 11 of the Law No. 2872, it is stated that the recovery contribution fee will be increased by the revaluation rate determined and announced in accordance with the provisions of the repeated article 298 of the Tax Procedure Law. However, it is stated that if the fraction of the tax rate calculated by revaluation does not exceed 5% of the calculated amount, it is not taken into account. This is the reason why tax rates are determined in an imprecise manner.
The recycling contribution share calculated for 25 kuruş bags in 2021 was increased by 9.11%, the valuation rate determined from the previous year. Thus, the recycling contribution share determined for 2021 and to be taken from the bag was calculated as 19.6398. Since the fraction did not exceed 5% of the calculated amount, it was subtracted and 19 remained.
The calculation for the next year shows that the price of the bag is likely to increase. According to the statement of Ozan Bingöl, the revaluation rate determined this year is much higher than in previous years: 36.20%. When the calculation is made over the previous year, the recycling contribution to be taken from the bags in the upcoming period exceeds the price of the bag:
- 19 + (19 x 36.20%) = 25,878 cents (25 cents when the fraction is subtracted)
When the 18% VAT of the bag fee is also taken into account, the amount to be taken from the bag increases to 29.5 kurus when only taxes are taken into account. This shows that the sale price of the bag cannot be less than 29.5 cents.
In the same article of Law No. 2872, “The President is authorized to increase or decrease the amounts determined in this way up to half. ” is included. This situation can only be prevented by the authority of the President.
So how much will the bag cost?
If the President does not exercise his authority regarding the recovery contribution account, the tax base price of the bag will be 29.5 kuruş. When the cost of the bag is added to this, a bag can cost between 35 and 50 cents. However, if the President’s authority is used, the amount of recycling contribution from the bag decreases and the price of the bag may continue to be fixed at 25 cents.
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