Press association says Doğan levy targets free press

The Association for the Promotion of the International Circulation of the Press, or Distipress, in a letter to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said the tax fines against the Doğan Media Group, or DMG, targeted press freedom.

The organization, which links distributors, publishers and their suppliers on an international level, said it was very concerned about the tax fine and asked for its revocation.

Tax officials have imposed a tax levy of $2.5 billion on the DMG, claiming that value added tax, or VAT, was not paid for share transfers between DMG companies. The DMG and many independent tax experts argue that such transfers are legally exempt from VAT.

The Zurich, Switzerland-based organization, which according to its charter supports the promotion of the international distribution of newspapers, magazines and pocket books with the aim of promoting business contacts, supporting a fair and efficient trade and bolstering press freedom, said it represented 470 members in 96 countries and held its last summit in Istanbul last year in October.

It is recognized by UNESCO as a nongovernmental organization with operational status.

It said it was in close cooperation with Turkish publishers and distributors, and closely watched the developments in the country.

While the organization did not find it was qualified to comment on the tax fine itself, the magnitude of the fine created concern and suspicion about its real intention, said Distipress.

In the letter, Distipress criticized Erdoğan’s call to boycott DMG newspapers, arguing that the actions targeting the group showed that the real intention of the charges was to increase political pressure and create obstacles to critical journalism.

Penalties that threaten the existence of a media group also threatened freedom of press, Distipress said, arguing that the annulment of the fine would be seen by the international media as a step to protect freedom of the press