Istanbul — Turkey has emerged as a benchmark for European countries in the field of tax regulations and digital transformation, according to Ann-Christel Graham, Chief Revenue Officer of Sovos, a global leader in tax compliance technology. Speaking to PD, Graham emphasized that Turkey has become the company’s fourth most significant market worldwide and a model for digital tax implementation across Europe.
Sovos, which provides tax compliance and regulatory technology solutions to businesses of all sizes in more than 70 countries, serves over 100,000 clients globally — including half of the Fortune 500 companies. In Turkey, the company’s client list includes major names such as Yıldız Holding, Apple, Anadolu Group, and Amazon, as well as individual online jewelry sellers.
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Turkey Becomes a Global Hub for Tax Technology
Operating in Turkey for the past decade, Sovos has consistently exceeded its growth targets for five consecutive years, making the country its fourth-largest market. With two local acquisitions and two R&D centers, Turkey now plays a central role in Sovos’s global ecosystem.
Last year, the company restructured its operations into three main regions — EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Asia), the Americas, and Latin America. Sovos Turkey Country Manager Elçim Sirek was promoted to Vice President of Sales for the EMEA region, reflecting Turkey’s strategic importance and leadership in tax digitalization.
“Turkey is one of the first countries to embrace the digitalization challenge and has now become a global pioneer,” Graham said. “European countries are looking to Turkey as a model. Initiatives like ‘Digital Age of Tax in Europe’ are inspired by Turkey’s progress. Countries such as France, Belgium, and Poland are following Turkey’s example. Over the next three years, 25 countries will adopt e-invoicing systems, and Sovos is playing an active role in this transformation.”
Graham noted that her first visit as CRO after Chile — where Sovos was founded — was to Turkey, underlining the country’s significance. “A large portion of our European revenue now comes from Turkey,” she added. “We’ve made major investments here and will continue to do so. Turkey is setting the pace for others.”
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Responding to Global Policy Shifts
When asked about how U.S. President Donald Trump’s policy decisions affect global tax compliance, Graham responded:
“Whether it’s Trump or anyone else, political decisions can be unpredictable. What we can do is prepare our systems to react quickly and adapt effectively. Our mission is to make businesses resilient against uncertainty.”
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Real-Time Tax Auditing and AI Integration
Graham also highlighted the increasing pace of regulatory change:
“Tax laws evolve rapidly, and real-time auditing has become critical. Governments are now leveraging artificial intelligence to enhance their tax systems, which means companies must also prepare accordingly. The old models of tax compliance no longer suffice — speed, data volume, and government oversight have all increased dramatically.”
She emphasized that Sovos’s Turkish R&D centers play a vital role in developing AI-powered compliance tools that are now being deployed globally. “We mirror government-level tax visibility for companies so they can see exactly what the authorities see — a real-time reflection of their tax position.”
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New Regulation: Digitalization of Expense Receipts
Sovos EMEA Vice President Elçim Sirek pointed out that Turkey has made major progress in digitalizing taxation and hinted that the next stage — digital auditing — is coming soon.
“There are about 14,000 new regulations or amendments globally every month. It’s impossible for firms to track them all,” Sirek explained. “In Turkey alone, there were nine major regulatory changes in the second half of last year. The pace is intense — for instance, tax rate changes were announced and went live the following Monday, yet our 100,000+ clients transitioned smoothly thanks to our systems.”
Sirek also discussed the upcoming expense receipt (gider pusulası) regulation, set to take effect in January. “This will digitalize all paper-based transactions such as manual invoices, cash payments, and inter-store transfers. It’s a long-awaited move, especially for retailers,” she said.
Sovos plans to hold a workshop bringing together major retailers and tax experts to review the new regulation and submit recommendations to the Turkish Revenue Administration (GİB). “This is a comprehensive regulation that will shape the entire retail sector. If implemented correctly, it will simplify processes — but any missteps could make compliance even harder,” Sirek cautioned.
Source: Patronlar Dünyası/ Prepared by: İlayda Gök