Taxation of Those Who Earn Income from Social Media in Türkiye: Problems Encountered and Solution Suggestions

Türkiye’de Sosyal Medya Üzerinden Gelir Elde Edenlerin Vergilendirilmesi: Karşılaşılan Sorunlar ve Çözüm Önerileri

Orçun AVCI

Developments in information and communication technologies have made the use of the internet widespread in the world. With the increase in the use of the internet, the methods of commercial activities have diversified. Today, with the internet network and communication technologies taking a more active place in life, social networks have gained a special importance. Social networks represent the connections between people and the power of these connections. Today, apart from visual and written media, people have created a medium called social media by making new friends, finding old friends or sharing their knowledge and skills that they have specialized in a certain social, political, cultural, and economic area in the virtual environment. Social media has created a new field of activity by not staying away from economic life. The number of people who aim to generate income with the use of social media is increasing day by day. The logic of revenue generation, which can be achieved in different ways, is based on a similar cycle on most platforms. Content on social media platforms is created by users. This created content is crowned with an advertisement in order to attract attention and ultimately generates revenue. In addition, with social media, there is not only digital content, but also the sale of goods. As such, the tax situation of the income obtained is of great importance. Social media production activities are increasing in Türkiye as well as in the world. Various legal arrangements have been made in Türkiye in order to solve the tax problems that occur as a result of the digitalization of the said economic activities. However, despite the arrangements made on the subject, some problems still remain. In this direction, the study aims to identify the problems related to the taxation of income earners through social media in Türkiye and to offer various solutions.

Social Media, Social Media Content Producers, Generate Income, Transfer to Heirs, Taxation of Social Media.

Bilgi ve iletişim teknolojilerindeki gelişmeler dünyadaki internet kullanımını yaygınlaştırmıştır. İnternet kullanımının artışı ile ticari faaliyetlerin yöntemleri çeşitlenmiştir. Günümüzde internet ağı ve iletişim teknolojilerinin yaşamın içinde daha aktif yer almasıyla sosyal ağlar ayrı bir önem kazanmıştır. Sosyal ağlar insanlar arasındaki bağlantıları ve bu bağlantıların gücünü temsil etmektedir. Günümüzde insanlar; görsel ve yazılı medya dışında, yeni arkadaşlıklar edinmek, eski arkadaşlarını bulmak veya sosyal, siyasal, kültürel ve ekonomik olarak belli bir konuda uzmanlaştığı bilgi ve becerilerini sanal ortamda paylaşarak sosyal medya şeklinde anılan bir mecra oluşturmuşlardır. Sosyal medya ekonomik hayattan uzak kalmayarak yeni bir faaliyet alanı doğurmuştur. Sosyal medya kullanımı ile gelir elde etme amacında olanların sayısı ise gün geçtikçe artmaktadır. Farklı yöntemlerle gerçekleştirilebilen gelir yaratmanın mantığı, çoğu platformda benzer bir döngüye dayanmaktadır. Sosyal medya platformlarında içerik, kullanıcılar tarafından oluşturulmaktadır. Oluşturulan bu içerik, ilgi çekebilmek amacıyla bir reklam ile taçlandırılmakta ve neticede ise geliri ortaya çıkarmaktadır. Ayrıca sosyal medya ile sadece dijital bir içerik değil aynı zamanda mal satışı da söz konusu olabilmektedir. Hâl böyle olunca elde edilen gelirin vergisel durumu büyük önem arz etmektedir. Türkiye’de de dünyada olduğu gibi sosyal medya üretim faaliyetleri oldukça artmaktadır. Söz konusu iktisadi faaliyetlerin dijitalleşmesi sonucu meydana gelen vergisel sorunlara çözüm olabilmesi adına Türkiye’de çeşitli kanuni düzenlemeler yapılmıştır. Ancak konuya ilişkin yapılan düzenlemelere rağmen bazı sorunlar devam etmektedir. Bu doğrultuda çalışma, Türkiye’de sosyal medya üzerinden gelir elde edenlerin vergilendirilmesine ilişkin sorunları tespit edebilmeyi ve çeşitli çözüm önerileri sunmayı amaçlamaktadır.

Sosyal Medya, Sosyal Medya İçerik Üreticileri, Gelir Elde Etmek, Mirasçılara Aktarım, Sosyal Medyanın Vergilendirilmesi.

INTRODUCTION

The internet has increased the rates of electronic shopping by enabling buyers and sellers to meet digitally. At the same time, thanks to the widespread use of the internet and the acceleration and development of computers, smart phones and other communication devices, people have become able to reach each other at any place and time. The widespread use of smartphones, tablets and the internet, and the fact that people stayed at home due to the Covid-19 pandemic, have made live broadcasting platforms gaining in importance. Even in this process, there have been platforms that have become stars in a short time.

As a result of the development of technology and therefore the internet, the use of social media has become an inseparable part of our lives. Now, some people have even started to make financial gains through social media platforms. Especially recently, the number of people who have started to be described as “YouTuber” is increasing day by day. On the other hand, it has become commonplace for those with a large number of followers to earn financially by making sales through their “Facebook” or “Instagram” accounts, or by advertising on their personal pages. The people in question earn through social networks in various ways such as advertising revenues, sponsorship and sales revenues, and paid subscription revenues. How these gains will be taxed has been a matter of interest for a while both in the tax world and in the eyes of those who earn it. Today, states are attempting to both follow the returns of technological opportunities and re-establish their legislation in line with these developments, to control and tax the gains that will arise from this. Therefore, in response to these developments in Türkiye, as in the rest of the world, in this respect, both legal arrangements are being made and some steps have been taken to include these income elements within the scope of taxation within the framework of these regulations.

For the years 2018, 2019, and 2020, tax inspections have been made for those who earn through social media, and efforts have been made to record and declare the incomes obtained¹. Finally, the regulation on how taxation will be done in this sector has been made with the Law No. 7338 “The Law on the Amendment of the Tax Procedure Law and Some Laws²”. However, there are still some legal gaps on the subject. In addition, the ongoing confusion of legislation has made the tax administration’s job difficult enough. In this context in this study, the subject will be discussed in detail and the current problems and solution proposals will be emphasized.