Taxes are something that no one wants to do. There is no one, not even the biggest 1% of 1% billionaires or the most basic Povvo members. But you can’t avoid it, just like death. Some people had it worse than others. As an example, people who buy brand-new cars in Turkey are subject to the Special Consumption Tax (SCT), which taxes cars based on their engine size. This is why cars like the 1.6-liter BMW 520i and 1.5-liter Mercedes-Benz E180 appear in Turkey, as Motor1 reported not long ago. Both types come with a 2.0-liter turbo-four engine in the US models. Buyers in Turkey “only” pay a ridiculous 80% SCT because the engines are smaller. That’s not a mistake. Eighth. Not at all. Eighty. In Turkey, the cost of a car is more than just the sticker price. All cars that exceed TL 80,000, roughly $6,100, are hit with a basic SCT. This includes all new cars. If your engine is less than 1.6 liters, you’ll only have to pay that much for SCT. But if you opt for a bigger engine, like a 2.0-liter, the SCT skyrockets by a staggering 150%. So, don’t be surprised if you’re eyeing a car with a 220% SCT V6 or V8 engine. The cost of cars in Turkey can be quite a shock. That’s why engines in big cars like the E-Class and 5 Series are so small. This was done before there were 20% taxes on imports because there must be more! How much do you think it will cost Turkish buyers to get an E-Class with 168 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque? A little over $137,000. In the US, the base price for a 2.0-liter E350 is $63,450. Now is the time to get some good walking shoes. Without going into too much detail about Turkish history, the 1980s and 1990s were a time of many terrible natural tragedies and financial crises. There’s no question that the economy was fixed. A lot of indirect taxes were taken out or combined with value-added taxes (VAT). One of these is the SCT. One of the four main types of goods that are subject to the one-time tax is automobiles. This tax is charged at the time of buying. Before, the car buying tax was based on how heavy the car was. New cars are now taxed based on engine size since the SCT took the place of the old method. If the government changed the way cars are priced based on the number of seats they have, companies would only make whole family cars with all the seats removed.
