State support for Coca-Cola! Parliament, AKP-run municipalities, and Agricultural Credit Cooperatives had decided to boycott
Due to Israel's attacks on Gaza, many citizens have been boycotting Coca-Cola and various carbonated beverages on the grounds that they are 'Israeli products.' This boycott is also supported by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), Agricultural Credit Markets, and AKP-run municipalities. However, data recently published in the Official Gazette revealed that state incentives have been granted to Coca-Cola.
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In Turkey, many public institutions and citizens are boycotting Coca-Cola and its associated carbonated beverages on the grounds that they are 'Israeli products.' However, according to documents in the Official Gazette, it has emerged that Coca-Cola has recently received state support.
INCENTIVES AND BOYCOTTS SIDE BY SIDE
According to a report by Mustafa Kömüş from BirGün, Coca-Cola İçecek AŞ received incentives in return for an investment of 590 million 793 thousand TL.
The incentives provided for carbonated beverage production are as follows: customs duty exemption, VAT exemption, 5-year employer's share of insurance premiums, 60 percent tax reduction, and a 25 percent investment contribution rate. The incentives given to Coca-Cola were the most notable among them. Following Israel's recent increase in attacks on Hamas, many public institutions had boycotted Coca-Cola. Most recently, the TBMM removed Coca-Cola products from its menus to boycott Israel.
HAD BEEN UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR FETÖ
The most notable company on the list after Coca-Cola was Elvan Gıda. The company's Chairman of the Board, Hidayet Kadiroğlu, had been under investigation for FETÖ in 2018. Kadiroğlu was accused of depositing money into Bank Asya along with 7 companies. Kadiroğlu, who was referred for arrest, was released on 1 million TL bail and judicial control conditions. The incentives provided to the company by the state are as follows: customs duty exemption, VAT exemption, 10-year employer's share of insurance premiums, 90 percent tax reduction, and a 50 percent investment contribution rate.
TAX EXEMPTION FOR BİNALİ YILDIRIM'S FRIEND
15 Temmuz Denizcilik, chaired by Salih Zeki Çakır, who is known in the public eye as a friend of Binali Yıldırım, was also on the list. In return for an investment of 30.7 million TL, the company benefited from customs duty exemption, VAT exemption, and employer's share of insurance premium incentives.