'Clear regulation makes something like Uber impossible.'

In the country we live in, some very strange things are happening. Groups that don't want competition, are loud and have electoral power have used their relationship with the government to ban Uber, which provides online cab services, in 2019.

What has happened since that ban? Pirate cabs became more common. Existing cabs have turned into a professional group that does not compete and treats Turkish passengers as second-class citizens, choosing passengers and showing no interest in their comfort. They have managed to create a world where they do not have to pay taxes by raising the exceptional amounts of taxation they pay under a simple system''taxation of 300 Turkish lira per year. Bravo...

It has long been discussed in our country that people renting out accommodation by the day do not pay taxes and compete with hotels. Day rentals have been subject to mandatory ID requirements in 2016, mandatory payment of rent through a bank or post office as of July 1, 2017, and mandatory "operator available at all times" as of June 2022. The most comprehensive regulation regarding tourism-related day rentals was the Law on the Rental of Residential Premises for Tourism Purposes and Amendments to Certain Laws, published in the Official Gazette on November 2, 2023. During the process of enacting such law, the statements on''income exceeds the annual exclusion amount, you report this to the tax office by filing a tax return in March of the following year and pay the tax in two installments. There is no problem here. The problem arises when, because of the desire to generate more income than can be obtained from a long-term rental property, you have an arrangement in which the accommodation is prepared for use by different people over a long period of time, on a day-by-day or week-by-week basis, with the accommodation being handed over to guests and prepared for use after the stay is over. In such a case, it is not possible to talk about a rental contract because this activity is considered a commercial activity. In addition to the obligation to keep records and issue invoices, also''there is an obligation to apply value added tax, renting a home as a residence does not qualify for the use of the exemption. As daily rentals are available worldwide, including in Turkey, through the Airbnb platform, it has been very easy to monitor these listings and easily detect those who are earning unofficial income.

The law makes daily rentals impossible.

The law has introduced very detailed regulations, below are those that make it impossible to rent accommodation on a daily basis:

• The rental of accommodation for any purpose for up to 100 days for users is defined as "tourism rental", rentals lasting more than 100 days are excluded from the provisions of the law.
• To authorize the rental of dwellings'. 'for tourism purposes, an authorization document from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is required prior to the conclusion of a lease agreement.