Varlık Vergisi

Template:Short description Template:Expand German The Varlık Vergisi ({{#invoke:IPA|main}}, "wealth tax" or "capital tax") was a tax mostly levied on non-Muslim citizens under the Republican People's Party (CHP) government in Turkey in 1942, with the stated aim of raising funds for the country's defense in case of an eventual entry into World War II. The underlying reason for the tax was to inflict financial ruin on the minority non-Muslim citizens of the country,<ref>Template:Cite book "In reality, the idea was to reduce the influence of the minority non-Turkish citizens to the country's affairs."</ref> end their prominence in the country's economy and transfer the assets of non-Muslims to the Muslim bourgeoisie.<ref>Şakir Dinçşahin, Stephen Goodwin, "Towards an Encompassing Perspective on Nationalism: The Case of Jews in Turkey during Second World War, 1939–1945"</ref> It was a discriminatory measure which taxed non-Muslims up to ten times more heavily and resulted in a significant amount of wealth and property being transferred to Muslims.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Background

The Şükrü Saracoğlu government introduced a bill for a one-off tax, which was approved by the Turkish parliament on November 11, 1942. This tax targeted fixed assets, including landed estates, buildings, businesses, and industrial enterprises owned by all citizens but disproportionately affected minorities. Non-Muslim communities, such as Jews, Greeks, Armenians, and Levantines,<ref>Template:Cite book "Those mainly afflicted were the Greeks, Jews, Armenians, and, to some extent, foreign-passport Levantine families."</ref> who played a significant role in the economy,<ref name="dilek">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> were particularly hard-hit, with Armenians bearing the heaviest tax burden.<ref>Template:Cite conference</ref>

While the tax was supposedly meant for all Turkish citizens, it disproportionately burdened non-Muslims with exorbitant and arbitrary rates.<ref name="Varlik Vergisi">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web

}}</ref><ref name="The_Cambridge_History_of_Turkey">Template:Cite book "But in its application it differentiated between Muslim and non-Muslim taxpayers, and levied far heavier taxes on non-Muslims, leading to the destruction of the remaining non-Muslim merchant class in Turkey."</ref><ref name="Turkey_the Jews_and_the_Holocaust">Template:Cite book "They were almost exclusively non-Muslims. The law was thus perceived by the public as a "punitive measure" against non-Muslims."."</ref> The consequences were severe—the remaining non-Muslim merchant class was decimated, and many non-Muslim families faced financial ruin.<ref name="The_Cambridge_History_of_Turkey" /><ref>Template:Cite book "Further, the Varlik Vergisi, an excessive tax instituted during World War II, pilfered small Jewish (and other minority) businesses to the point of bankruptcy"</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "Due to the law, most non-Muslim merchants sold their properties and vanished from the markets."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "As a consequence of Varlık Vergisi and the labour camps, the lives and finances of many non-Muslim families were ruined."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "..., by the time that tax was abolished the major Greek, Armenian and Jewish merchant figures were shaken and dislocated."</ref> The taxes reached staggering levels, at times surpassing an individual's entire wealth.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The law applied even to impoverished non-Muslims like drivers, workers, and beggars, while their Muslim counterparts enjoyed exemption.<ref>Template:Cite book "The law was also applied to the many poor non-Muslims (numbering 26,000) such as drivers, workers and even beggars, whereas their Muslim counterparts were not obliged to pay any tax."</ref> The Varlık Vergisi led to a number of suicides among ethnic minority citizens in Istanbul.<ref>Template:Cite book "The Varlık resulted in a number of suicides of ethnic minority citizens in Istanbul, indeed, I saw one myself. One evening while on a ferryboat I saw a man jump off the stern into the Bosphorus current."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "Some people committed suicide in despair."</ref>

File:Fazıl Ahmet Aykaç.jpg

Fazıl Ahmet Aykaç, one of the proponents of the Varlık Vergisi

File:Mehmet Neşet Bey Özercan.jpg

Template:Ill, one of the opponents of the tax

File:Vergisiauctions.png

Non-Muslims auctioning off their furniture to pay for the tax

Population group	Amount of taxes to be paid<ref>Corry Guttstadt: Turkey, the Jews, and the Holocaust. Cambridge University Press, 2013. p. 75</ref><ref>Andrew G. Bostom: The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History. Prometheus Books; Reprint edition, 2008. p. 124</ref><ref>Nergis Erturk: Grammatology and Literary Modernity in Turkey. Oxford University Press, 2011. p. 141</ref>
Christian Armenians	232%
Jews	179%
Christian Greeks	156%
Muslims	4.94%

During World War II, Turkey maintained a neutral stance until February 1945. The official rationale for the tax was to bolster the state treasury in preparation for a potential invasion by Nazi Germany or the Soviet Union. However, the primary motive behind the tax was to assert national control over the Turkish economy. By diminishing the influence and control of minority populations in trade, finance, and industries, the government aimed to create a new Turkish Muslim bourgeoisie.<ref name="aktar">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "These quotations reveal that the real reason for the Wealth Tax was the elimination of non-Muslims from the economy."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "However, the underlying reason was the elimination of minorities from the economy, and the replacement of the non-Muslim bourgeoisie by its Turkish counterpart."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "... an attempt was being made by means of the Wealth Tax to eliminate the minorities who occupied an important place in Turkey's commercial life."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "The first visible attempt in order to remove minorities from economic life was the implementation of 'Wealth Tax' in 1942 which was accepted in the National Assembly with the claim of balancing and distributing properties of minorities. The actual aim behind the scenes was to impoverish the non-Muslim minorities and eliminate them from the competition in the national economy. Instead, the RPP government tried to create a new wealthy Turkish Muslim bourgeoisie."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "With the introduction of the Varlik Vergisi (capital tax) in 1942, which aimed to confiscate the property and assets of non-Muslims, an attempt was made to bring the national economy also under the control of Muslim citizens."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "The aim was to destroy the economic and cultural base of these minorities, loot their properties and means of livelihood, and, at the same time "turkify" the economy of Turkey."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "That tax was instrumental in transferring the control of the market from the non-Muslim groups to the Muslims."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "Varlik Vergisi is commonly translated as "Capital Tax" or "Wealth Tax" we might, however, consider an alternate translation of varlik as "presence" which focuses attention on the devaluation- both financial and political of minority presence during this time"</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "... We will use it to eliminate the foreigners who control the market and hand the Turkish market over the Turks." "The foreigners to be eliminated" referred primarily to the non-Muslims citizens of Turkey."</ref>Template:Excessive citations inline

The tax could not be challenged neither by legal nor administrative means, except if there was a duplication.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Non-Muslims were given a 15-day window to pay their dues in cash.<ref>Template:Cite book "In addition, the non-Muslims were required to pay their taxes in cash within 15 days."</ref> Those unable to meet the obligation resorted to borrowing from friends or family, selling properties at public auctions, or offloading businesses to gather funds.<ref>Template:Cite book "The property of individuals who could not raise their assessments was sold at public auctions,..."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "..as a result they had to sell their businesses or property to Muslim businessmen at low prices to cover the bill."</ref>

For those incapable of payment, they were sent to labor camps in eastern Anatolia.<ref>Template:Cite book "..., and those unable to pay were packed off to a camp at Askale, near Erzerum – an area cooler than Moscow in the winter – where they were put to work breaking stones."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "The Askale victims were later sent south to a camp in the Tigris Valley."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "..., and if the sale failed to produce the required amount, the owners were sent to forced labor camps run by the Ministry of Public Works."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "Those unable to pay had to work off their debt in labour camps in Askale, in eastern Turkey."</ref> Though workers received wages, half was deducted to offset their debts.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Elderly individuals, unable to endure the rigorous labor, collaborated with younger villagers from Aşkale, paying them daily wages to work in their stead.<ref>Template:Cite book "Yaşlılar, Kop geçidinde kar temizleme işinin ağırlığından dolayı Aşkaleli köylülerden bazıları ile anlaşarak kendi yerlerine gençleri çalışmaya göndermişler, bunun karşılığında da onlara günlük ödeme yapmışlardır."</ref> All five thousand sent to the labor camps were non-Muslims,<ref>Template:Cite book "Out of 40,000 tax debtors, about 5,000 were sent to these camps, and all of these were members of non-Muslim communities."</ref> as Muslim taxpayers faced milder consequences.<ref>Template:Cite book "Muslims taxpayers who failed to pay in full received lighter sentences."</ref> Despite the law exempting those over fifty-five from labor service, even elderly and sick individuals found themselves dispatched.<ref>Template:Cite book "Although the law stipulated that people over fifty-five years old were exempt from labor service, seventy-five and eighty year old men and even sick people were dragged to the train station and deported."</ref> Twenty-one people died in these camps,<ref>Template:Cite book "Twenty-one people died in these camps."</ref> and their wealth was confiscated by the Turkish government and sold at significantly reduced prices to Turkish Muslims, laying the groundwork for some contemporary Turkish conglomerates.<ref>Template:Cite book "Unfortunately, 21 people died in these camps and the government usurped their wealth and sold it to Turkish Muslims at low prices."</ref> The state also seized property from close relativesTemplate:Sndparents, parents-in-law, children, and siblingsTemplate:Sndselling it to settle tax amounts, even if the individual had been consigned to forced labor.<ref>Template:Cite book "The law empowered the state to confiscate the property of the taxed person's closed relatives (including parents, parents-in-law, children, and siblings) and to sell it to settle the tax amount, even if the person had been forced into labor service."</ref>

Taxpayers were classified into four separate lists, the "M" list, for Muslims, the "G", for non-Muslims (Gayrimuslim), the "E", for Foreigners (Ecnebi) and the "D" for converts (Dönme).<ref>Template:Cite book "Taxpayers were classified into two separate lists, the M list, for Muslims, the G, for non-Muslims (Gayrimuslim). Later, two other categories were added, E, for Foreigners (Ecnebi) and the D for converts (Dönme), i.e., members of the Sabetaist sect of Jewish converts to Islam."</ref> Foreign-passport residents in Turkey who gave in a tax return or owned a business were forced to pay a huge capital levy on supposed wealth too, although none of them were ruined or committed suicide. Devoid of any factual basis, the tax seemed to arise solely from the authorities' whims,<ref>Template:Cite book "No foreign-passport residents in Turkey were ruined or committed suicide. However, every foreigner who gave in a tax-return, or owned a business, was forced to pay a huge capital levy on supposed wealth. The tax was not based on any reality, but just on a whim of the Authorities."</ref> prompting foreign embassies and consulates to intervene on behalf of their nationals.<ref>Template:Cite book "This provoked the intervention of foreign embassies and consulates on behalf of their nationals."</ref> During the period, the Turkish press allegedly published "anti-minority" articles and reports.<ref>Template:Cite book "One or two weeks after the Wealth Tax lists were displayed, the attitude of the press began to harden further. The "anti-minority" attitude of the news reporting and leading articles that appeared to the press became more pronounced. In particular, during the process of levying distress and sending taxpayers to Askale, anti-minority sentiment reached its zenith."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "The newspapers depicted individual black marketers or suspected "usurers" as "parasites of the Turkish people"; those explicitly named were always non-Muslims."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book "Although the smear campaign was directed against non-Muslim minorities in general, it was mostly Jews who were specifically targeted by articles and caricatures, which employed stereotypical anti-Semitic tropes.</ref>

Official figures revealed that the Turkish government collected TL 324 million (when 1 US dollar equaled 1.20 Turkish lira) through the confiscation of non-Muslim assets<ref name="Varlik Vergisi" />Template:Sndan amount surpassing $4 billion in 2022.<ref> [1] Result based results provided from linked Inflation Calculator after adjusting for the rate of exchange provided (TL324,000,000 = $240,000,000.)</ref> According to Template:Ill, the director of finance for the province of Istanbul at the time during the Varlık Vergisi, TL 289,256,246 was collected from non-Muslim minorities, TL 34,226,764 from converts, and TL 25,600,409 from Muslims.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Despite the government's rigid enforcement of this discriminatory law, it failed to achieve the intended results. Companies, compelled to offset losses, sharply increased product prices, triggering an inflationary spiral that adversely impacted low-income consumers.Template:Citation needed

Repeal and aftermath

International pressure led to the repeal of the controversial law on March 15, 1944, driven by strong criticism from the United Kingdom and the United States.<ref>Template:Cite book "The Wealth Tax was withdrawn in March 1944, under the pressure of criticism from Britain and the United States"</ref> Following its abolition, minority citizens detained in labor camps were released,<ref>Template:Cite book "Minority citizens still in the camps were sent back to their homes."</ref> and though the Turkish government pledged to refund paid taxes to non-Muslims, this promise went unfulfilled.<ref>Template:Cite book "Although the RPP government promised to give back the paid taxes to non-Muslims, it did not happen."</ref>

The opposition Democratic Party (DP) capitalized on its unpopularity in the general election of 1950,<ref name="dilek" /> which was the first democratic general election in the Turkish Republic, thereby securing a landslide victory against the Republican People's Party (CHP).

The enduring impact of these taxes manifested in a lasting demographic shift within minority populations. Many, particularly the Greek minority, perceived an uncertain future in Turkey and sought refuge in Greece. Conversely, some from the Jewish community, having safeguarded assets abroad, managed to rebuild a more cautious life in Turkey.<ref>Template:Cite book "The Varlık Vergisi brought about a permanent demographic change within the minority population. Many (especially the Greek minority) felt that there was no future for them in Turkey, and they left their ancestral homes and became refugees in Greece. On the other hand, some, especially within the Jewish community had managed to secrete assets abroad and they were able to re-start a reduced and hesitant life in Turkey, being careful to abstain from displaying any sign of affluence."</ref> The tax precipitated the closure or sale of small businesses to larger entities, consolidating control in the hands of major business interests.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It also facilitated state confiscation of significant minority property in Istanbul, not only reshaping the economy but altering the urban landscape as well.<ref>Template:Cite book "The tax resulted in state confiscation of much minority property in Istanbul, Turkifying not only the city's economy but also its landscape".</ref> The 1935 Census recorded non-Muslims as 1.98% of the population; by 1945, this had fallen to 1.54%.

In addition, the Varlık Vergisi underscored that being Muslim held substantial implications for Turkish citizenship.<ref>Template:Cite book "The Wealth Tax once more demonstrated that being Muslim constituted a significant part of the definition of citizenship in Turkey."</ref> Its treatment by the Turkish press highlighted the close ties between the Executive and the Press in the country.<ref>Template:Cite book "The Capital Tax in the way it was dealt with by the Turkish Press exemplifies exactly the close relations between these two Powers, the Executive and the Press, in World War II Turkey."</ref>

In 1951, Faik Ökte, in his memoirs, admitted to the discriminatory application of the tax against non-Muslims. The Turkish press condemned him as a "traitor to the homeland" for publishing such revelations.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In popular culture

The historical novel Salkım Hanım'ın Taneleri (variously translated as Mrs. Salkım's Diamonds/Pearls/Beads/Necklace), written by Turkish author Yilmaz Karakoyunlu, recounts stories and witnesses of the non-Muslims during the Varlık Vergisi. The same novel was turned into a film of the same name, Mrs. Salkım's Diamonds. Members of parliament, such as Template:Ill (MHP), were outraged at the screening.<ref name="MHP's Cakar blames Karakoyunlu for being, a 'Traitor'">Template:Cite news</ref>

The Netflix series The Club revolves around a Jewish woman who was victimized by the tax and its aftermath.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Economic history of Turkey
• Taxation of the Jews in Europe for other types of taxes imposed on the Jews
• Judenvermögensabgabe, a similar tax targeting wealthy Jews in Nazi Germany
• Confiscated Armenian properties in Turkey
• Jizya
• Dhimmi
• The Twenty Classes
• Human rights in Turkey
• Freedom of religion in Turkey
• Xenophobia and discrimination in Turkey

Further reading

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