Turkish Tax Havens

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Municipalities worldwide are faced with ever-increasing costs and limited incomes from an already overtaxed populace. They are seeking ways to reduce costs while providing enhanced services to their citizens. Different countries have different requirements and needs; for example, payment of taxes and/or utility bills by mail is not possible in Turkey. In most municipalities, individuals must visit the local municipal building in person to pay their taxes. This can be inconvenient, and requires the municipality to maintain staff to handle the ongoing interactions.Similarly, utility bills must be paid in person at each individual utility office, or via automatic withdrawals from an individual's bank account. Automatic withdrawal is problematic, as the customer must then maintain an adequate balance to cover all withdrawals without knowing the amount of the withdrawal in advance.
The municipality of Çukurova in Adana, Turkey decided to adopt a high-tech solution to this problem that reduced their operating costs while providing enhanced features to the population. They contacted DCL Bilgisayar Sistemleri, a manufacturer of payment collection systems. DCL's recommendation was a series of outdoor payment terminals to be located throughout the town. Housed in secure, high-profile kiosks, these outdoor payment terminals accept credit cards and cash for payment of municipal taxes and utlity bills. This allows all tax and utility payments to be made from one convenient location. When paying a utility bill, the customer scans the barcode on the bill by using the integrated barcode scanner. Payment is then made, processed, and a receipt printed. Paying taxes is similar, except that customers enter their unique ID number rather than scan a barcode. The terminals even provide change for cash payments.
For this system, DCL Bilgisayar Sistemleri wanted a highly reliable printer that would work in a wide range of weather conditions, and considered numerous suppliers before selecting Hengstler. After consultation with the Hengstler team, DCL eventually settled on the company's X-80 printer. There were many factors in their decision, including the ability to select the printer features that they required, fast print speed, the ability to use a large paper roll, high-quality construction and low maintenance.
Designed for paper widths from 60 to 86mm, the printer prints at up to 350mm/second and can handle the large paper rolls that DCL specified. Available with RS-232 or USB interfaces, it can handle paper from 50 to 250g/m² and includes an integrated cutter.
The DCL system was unveiled in the first half of 2011 by the city of Adana. Large posters on the side of each kiosk explain the function of the payment terminal and point out its features and benefits. The program has been so successful that other cities in Turkey have begun replicating it. DCL has already supplied initial systems to a second city and more have expressed interest.