Turks flock to Georgia to buy smartphones ahead of tax hikes

STORY: Turks flock to Georgia to buy smartphones ahead of tax hikes DATELINE: July 11, 2023 LENGTH: 00:01:21 LOCATION: ISTANBUL, Türkiye CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of Türkiye-Georgia border, long car traffic of people trying to get to Georgia 2. various of Türkiye-Georgia border, people going to Georgia at the customs building STORYLINE: Turkish people have flooded into neighboring Georgia to buy smartphones ahead of tax hikes, local media reported on Monday. A convoy of vehicles lined up on the border between the two countries over the last weekend, while some Turks were seen to have walked across the frontier before the latest tax hikes took effect on Monday, Sozcu TV reported. The government decided to increase the fees for registration of smartphones bought abroad by 228 percent, from 6,091 Turkish liras (233 U.S. dollars) to 20,000 liras. Mobile phones are already expensive in Türkiye because of the depreciation of the lira and the latest tax raise pushed the prices even higher