Turkey’s tax hikes squeeze consumers amid growing deficit

CESME, Turkey —  A blue sticker posted in a dingy supermarket in the Aegean coastal town of Cesme sports a photo of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with a smug smile. “Is this product too expensive for you? It is because of Erdogan,” it says in bold black letters. 

The market owner says an elderly customer put it there earlier this month after the Turkish government increased the value-added tax (VAT) on cleaning and hygiene products by two points. “I voted for Erdogan in the last elections, but when she asked to stick it here on the detergent shelf, I did not object,” he said. “These are hard times — you see it here, in the way people haggle over prices, buy less than what they used to, or retired grandparents look distressed when their grandchildren ask for a second ice cream.” 

Then he becomes worried and asks that we do not use his name. “Perhaps I better remove it,” he said doubtfully. “Would it get me into trouble?”