 in income tax in 2024, the highest amount among the top 100 for the third consecutive year.){kind=link}
Selçuk Bayraktar, chairman of unmanned aerial vehicle producer Baykar and the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, paid 2.76 billion Turkish lira ($84 million) in income tax in 2024, the highest amount among the top 100 for the third consecutive year, according to an annual list by Turkey’s Revenue Administration released on Wednesday.
Selçuk’s brother, Baykar chief executive Haluk Bayraktar, followed with 2.53 billion lira ($77 million). The revenue authority said the Bayraktars’ tax payments are around 18 times higher than in 2021.
The 2024 list again underscores the financial power of Baykar, which derives about 90 percent of its revenue from exports, as its reported sales reached $1.8 billion in 2024, keeping it among Turkey’s 10 largest exporters.
Baykar’s flagship TB2 combat drone has amassed more than 1 million flight hours, and the company is working on an unmanned fighter project, according to industry reports.
The latest tax list shows that the Bayraktar brothers’ contributions have grown rapidly. In 2023 Selçuk Bayraktar paid 1.95 billion lira and Haluk Bayraktar paid 1.68 billion lira. A year later their combined tax payments exceeded 5 billion lira.
Selçuk Bayraktar has been one of the most prominent figures associated with Turkey’s growing drone industry. His position as both a leading taxpayer and a close relative of the president has attracted public scrutiny, especially as Baykar’s drones have been showcased during state visits.
Some analysts say the large tax payments provide the ruling party with a counter-narrative to criticism that politically connected companies receive preferential treatment.
Many taxpayers opt for anonymity
While the Revenue Administration publicized the top taxpayer rankings, most individuals on the list chose not to reveal their names. The authority noted that 79 of the 100 highest-income taxpayers declined to be identified.
Observers have pointed out that names kept off the list have been increasing, reflecting a climate in which business owners fear attracting attention from employees, unions or politically connected groups. Some analysts say taxpayers worry that their earnings could be used against them in wage negotiations or that groups will demand money from them.
Opposition Democracy and Progress Party leader Ali Babacan had said last year that some high earners sought anonymity because they feared harassment and asset seizures by ruling-party officials. Babacan, a former economy minister, claimed that Justice and Development Party (AKP) figures pressure wealthy business people by suggesting they owe a share of their wealth to the party.
The reluctance of taxpayers to disclose their names is mirrored on the corporate side.
The revenue authority said many corporate taxpayers declined to be named, and banks dominated the group that did agree. Private lender Garanti Bank paid 25.29 billion lira in corporate tax to lead the list, while the state-run Ziraat Bank followed with 20.84 billion lira and participation bank Kuveyt Türk was third with 12.07 billion lira.
Other names on the list
The third-highest individual taxpayer did not disclose their identity.
Fourth place went to Mustafa Rahmi Koç, honorary chair of Koç Holding, who paid 757.75 million lira ($23 million).
The identity of the fifth through ninth places was also withheld.
Erman Ilıcak, honorary chair of construction and infrastructure giant Rönesans Holding, rounded out the top 10 with 372.7 million lira ($11.3 million).
In 2023 the Koç family accounted for several members on the top-taxpayer list. Rahmi Koç was third with 480 million lira, while board member İpek Kıraç and chairman Ömer Koç ranked fifth and seventh, respectively.