THOUSANDS of Didim homeowners who have had their roads upgraded and block-paved are to face demands for hundreds – and, in some cases, thousands – of Turkish Lira to pay for the work.
Didim Council has just begun issuing ‘one-off’ tax demands to property owners across the resort whose Sokaks and Cadessis have been revamped over the last 12 months.
Council officials began hand delivering small notes to property owners within the last seven days.
Those property owners who received them visited the council’s property and revenue service (Emlak ve Istimlak Mudurlugu Gelir Servisi) to discover that they had been issued with bills to pay for the block-paving of their roads.
Tapu owners face a choice: Pay the bill now and if they do, they get a 25 percent discount. Or they can pay the total in four instalments in April and October 2016 and April and October 2017 – when their separate council tax demands are
- Pay the bill now and if they do, they get a 25 percent discount.
- Or they can pay the original total in four instalments in April and October 2016 and April and October 2017 – when their separate council tax demands are due.
It appears the total on each property is based on the cost of a road’s construction, the value of the property declared on the title deed (Tapu) and the square metres of the property.
The total will have to be paid by those named or declared on the Tapu.
For those who live permanently in the UK, Europe or elsewhere, the demand may well come as a surprise when they arrive for their holidays at the second-homes in Didim next summer. They will more than likely go to pay for their council tax and then be handed the ‘road’ bills as well.
They will more than likely go to pay for their council tax and then be handed the ‘road’ bills as well.
It will also be equally frustrating for those that paid tax demands for their new roads that were laid with asphalt and chippings several years ago. If they have seen their roads become block-paved, they will face the prospect of paying twice – for the same road!
The council recently proclaimed on billboards that 450,000 sqm of block-paving has been laid and generally improved the town. But the ‘hidden’ financial cost is only now being realised to the average resident.