Turkey's 2025 Top Taxpayers Revealed: Bayraktar and Koç Lead the Pack

Turkey's highest individual income tax contributors for 2025 have been disclosed, with Baykar founders and Koç Holding executives taking the lead.

List of Top Taxpayers and Their City Distribution

■Selçuk Bayraktar – 2,991,536,760.62 TRY – Istanbul

■Lütfü Haluk Bayraktar – 2,502,027,660.87 TRY – Istanbul

■Mustafa Rahmi Koç – 830,795,072.17 TRY – Ankara

■Mehmet Sinan Tara – 676,261,751.92 TRY – Istanbul

■Erman Ilıcak – 557,655,112.13 TRY – Ankara

■Mehmet Cengiz – 448,694,700.95 TRY – Istanbul

■Ceyda Lale Tara – 430,317,465.73 TRY – Istanbul

■Ahmet Cengiz – 417,497,090.84 TRY – Izmir

■Mehmet Ömer Koç – 414,993,536.41 TRY – Istanbul

■Ekrem Cengiz – 397,509,699.21 TRY – Istanbul

■Veli Ergin İmre – 297,765,221.63 TRY – Istanbul

■9 individuals remain anonymous ((*)).

Payment Volumes and Ranking Dynamics

■The highest payment belongs to Selçuk Bayraktar, amounting to 2.99 billion TRY.

■The Bayraktar family occupies the top two spots, collectively contributing 5.49 billion TRY.

■Koç Holding representatives appear at positions 3, 13, and 14, with a combined tax payment of 1.25 billion TRY.

■Payment distribution is roughly 70% Istanbul, 20% Ankara, and 10% Izmir.

Anonymous Taxpayers and Transparency Debate

■Nine entries are marked as (*), raising concerns about tax transparency and public accountability.

■Analysts note that anonymity is common among high‑income groups and call for a more transparent tax framework.

Turkey’s tax revenues are tightly linked to the payment capacity of its top earners. The prominence of Bayraktar and Koç signals sustained growth in capital‑intensive sectors. However, the presence of anonymous taxpayers hampers precise measurement of the tax base, urging policymakers to enhance transparency. This gap poses a critical data deficiency for risk management, especially concerning financing of real‑estate and infrastructure projects.