Page 50 - IRANRptFeb21

top spot taken from Iraqis as top foreign buyers of Turkish property
Iran levies tax on speculators keeping homes empty
buyers of homes in Turkey, and have held on to the top spot for eight consecutive months, according to Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) data.
In the year to October, Iranians bought 5,565 homes in Turkey, compared to Iraqis with 5,074.
US President Donald Trump’s heavy sanctions thrown at Tehran may have undermined bilateral trade between Iran and Turkey, but at the same time they have left many Iranians short of investment opportunities at home, and many of those Iranians have opted for Turkish property as one of the safer bets.
Iran usually posts a wide trade surplus with Turkey, but since Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018 and imposed the sanctions, trade volumes have shrunk. Iran is on track to post a Turkey trade deficit this year for the first time since 2016, Turkish Ministry of Trade figures show. Total bilateral; trade declined 38% from 2016 to 2019.
Iran has commenced its long-awaited scheme to push thousands of apartments and homes kept empty by owners on to the market by imposing an “empty home tax”, YJC reported on September 22.
A barrage of SMS messages was reportedly sent out to hundreds of thousands of mobile numbers, thought to be those of owners, informing them of their tax liability.
More than 109,000 residential properties have been officially listed as vacant on the Iranian Tax Affairs Organisation’s website as part of the first phase of a plan to force owners to rent or sell the empty homes. Part of the reasoning of the government is that developers are sitting on brand new apartment blocks in the hope that the per square-metre price on unlived-in flats rises.
Mahmoud Mahmoudzadeh, Deputy Housing and Construction Minister of Roads and Urban Development, said more than 500,000 SMS messages were sent out to registered telephone numbers of those thought liable for the tax. "The information on vacant units will be provided to the Tax Affairs Organisation and this organisation will collect taxes through the available information," he said.
The move would help deflate home prices and control the housing market, partly by removing speculators from the system, he added.
"The rise in housing prices over the past few years has been caused by the increasing dollar and gold coin prices, and parallel markets," Mahmoudzadeh also said.
He also mentioned a previous move made by his ministry in which Tehran rental prices and those of other cities were capped on a price per square metre basis.
"Fortunately, statistical and initial assessments in the rental market are showing that this market is moving towards a calmer situation," he said
9.1.11 ​Metallurgy & mining sector news
Armenia places temporary ban on Iranian cement citing dumping
Armenia has placed a temporary ban on cement from “neighbouring countries” following dumping practices recorded on its small market, ARKA reported on January 27.​ Market data shows the move is clearly aimed at Iranian cement supplies.
The Armenian cement industry has suffered since Iran entered a temporary two-year preferential trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). Launched in October 2019, it reduced tariffs on many Iranian products exported to the five-member, Moscow-led trade bloc, including cement and other building materials.
“The plan is for this decision to ensure, through marketing mechanisms, the
50​ IRAN Country Report February 2021 www.intellinews.com