The Varlık Vergisi (, "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, "In reality, the idea was to reduce the influence of the minority non-Turkish citizens to the country's affairs." end their prominence in the country's economy and transfer the assets of non-Muslims to the Muslim bourgeoisie.Şakir Dinçşahin, Stephen Goodwin, "Towards an Encompassing Perspective on Nationalism: The Case of Jews in Turkey during Second World War, 1939–1945" 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.
The tax was also meant to target nationals of other countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, the USSR, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland, among others, but after complaints from multiple embassies, Turkey was forced to back off.
Some historians consider the tax to have been a form of economic and cultural genocide.Çetinoğlu, A. S. (2009). Ekonomik ve kültürel jenosit: Varlık Vergisi 1942–1944. Belge Yayınları.
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, Assyrians, and "Levantines" (Western European Catholics), "Those mainly afflicted were the Greeks, Jews, Armenians, Assyrians, and, to some extent, foreign-passport Levantine families." who played a significant role in the economy, were particularly hard-hit, with Armenians bearing the heaviest tax burden.
While the tax was supposedly meant for all Turkish citizens, it disproportionately burdened non-Muslims with exorbitant and arbitrary rates. "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." "They were almost exclusively non-Muslims. The law was thus perceived by the public as a "punitive measure" against non-Muslims."." The consequences were severe—the remaining non-Muslim merchant class was decimated, and many non-Muslim families faced financial ruin. "Further, the Varlik Vergisi, an excessive tax instituted during World War II, pilfered small Jewish (and other minority) businesses to the point of bankruptcy" "Due to the law, most non-Muslim merchants sold their properties and vanished from the markets." "As a consequence of Varlık Vergisi and the labour camps, the lives and finances of many non-Muslim families were ruined." "..., by the time that tax was abolished the major Greek, Armenian and Jewish merchant figures were shaken and dislocated." The taxes reached staggering levels, at times surpassing an individual's entire wealth. The law applied even to impoverished non-Muslims like drivers, workers, and beggars, while their Muslim counterparts enjoyed exemption. "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." The Varlık Vergisi led to a number of suicides among ethnic minority citizens in Istanbul. "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." "Some people committed suicide in despair."
Population group Amount of taxes to be paidCorry Guttstadt: Turkey, the Jews, and the Holocaust. Cambridge University Press, 2013. p. 75Andrew G. Bostom: The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History. Prometheus Books; Reprint edition, 2008. p. 124Nergis Erturk: Grammatology and Literary Modernity in Turkey. Oxford University Press, 2011. p. 141Christian 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. "These quotations reveal that the real reason for the Wealth Tax was the elimination of non-Muslims from the economy." "However, the underlying reason was the elimination of minorities from the economy, and the replacement of the non-Muslim bourgeoisie by its Turkish counterpart." "... 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." "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." "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." "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." "That tax was instrumental in transferring the control of the market from the non-Muslim groups to the Muslims." "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" "... 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."
The tax could not be challenged neither by legal nor administrative means, except if there was a duplication. Non-Muslims were given a 15-day window to pay their dues in cash. "In addition, the non-Muslims were required to pay their taxes in cash within 15 days." Those unable to meet the obligation resorted to borrowing from friends or family, selling properties at public auctions, or offloading businesses to gather funds. "The property of individuals who could not raise their assessments was sold at public auctions,..." "..as a result they had to sell their businesses or property to Muslim businessmen at low prices to cover the bill."
For those incapable of payment, they were sent to labor camps in eastern Anatolia. "..., 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." "The Askale victims were later sent south to a camp in the Tigris Valley." "..., 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." "Those unable to pay had to work off their debt in labour camps in Askale, in eastern Turkey." This, however, was only applied to non-Muslims. Though workers received wages, half was deducted to offset their debts. Elderly individuals, unable to endure the rigorous labor, collaborated with younger villagers from Aşkale, paying them daily wages to work in their stead. "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." All five thousand sent to the labor camps were non-Muslims, "Out of 40,000 tax debtors, about 5,000 were sent to these camps, and all of these were members of non-Muslim communities." as Muslim taxpayers faced milder consequences. "Muslims taxpayers who failed to pay in full received lighter sentences." Despite the law exempting those over fifty-five from labor service, even elderly and sick individuals found themselves dispatched. "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."
Twenty-one people died in these camps, "Twenty-one people died in these camps." at least, 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. "Unfortunately, 21 people died in these camps and the government usurped their wealth and sold it to Turkish Muslims at low prices." The state also seized property from close relativesparents, parents-in-law, children, and siblingsselling it to settle tax amounts, even if the individual had been consigned to forced labor. "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." In addition, it is estimated that related deaths were many more, since most victims came back from these camps in a much worse physical and mental state than before.