Israel Matzav

Turkish Airlines being investigated for tax fraud... in Israel

You drop the Mavi Marmara and we'll drop the tax fraud investigation.

Turkish Airlines is being accused of tax fraud to the tune of NIS 1.5 million, and the tax authorities are contemplating criminal action against the local branch manager.

Turkish Airlines' Israeli office is currently being investigated for alleged tax evasion amounting to over 1.5 million shekels ($418,000), a statement by the Justice Ministry said Monday.

According to the statement, the Tel Aviv District Prosecution's Taxes and Economics Department is considering pressing criminal charges against the company as well as the head of its local office, Fatih Dogan, for failing to meet Israel's Tax Authority guidelines for foreign companies operating in Israel. The decision is pending a hearing before the head of the Taxes and Economics Department, attorney Mina Zamir.

...

The Tel Aviv District Prosecution believes that between 2006 and 2010 the airline filed false tax reports in Israel, and that the wages paid to the company's Turkish employees, which were deposited in their bank accounts in Istanbul, were higher than the wages declared in Israel for taxation purposes.

This method allegedly allowed Turkish Airlines' Israeli office to pay its employees "under the table" and avoid deducting taxes that should have been paid to the Israeli authorities.

...

A statement by Turkish Airlines, carried by the financial daily Globes, said that the airline "is in compliance with the tax laws and regulation of every country it operates in, including Israel. The company employs the services of Israeli tax advisers and it relied on their advice, which proved wrong. Once we were alerted to the situation, the company made sure to pay the missing taxes. Turkish Airlines will present its case before the [Tel Aviv District] Prosecution and we are sure that our explanation will fall on sympathetic ears."

I'll tell you what. You drop all the Mavi Marmara nonsense and restore relations and we'll drop the investigation and let you keep operating in Israel.

Heh.

Labels: Israeli taxes, Turkish Airways

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 3:41 PM