Defense giant Baykar’s Chairman Selcuk Bayraktar tops income tax rankings for 5th consecutive year, followed by company’s CEO Haluk Bayraktar
Türkiye unveiled its list of the top 100 income taxpayers for 2025, with Baykar Chairman Selcuk Bayraktar retaining the top position for the fifth consecutive year.
Bayraktar became Türkiye’s top income taxpayer after paying 2.99 billion Turkish liras ($75.7 million) in taxes.
Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar ranked second with a tax payment of 2.5 billion liras ($63.3 million).
Rahmi Koc, honorary chairman of Koc Holding, took third place after paying 831 million liras ($21 million) in income tax.
Selcuk Bayraktar and Haluk Bayraktar have held the top two positions in Türkiye’s income tax rankings every year since 2021.
Their continued presence at the top of the list comes alongside Baykar’s export-driven growth.
The Turkish technology, defense and aerospace company set a new record in 2025 with $2.2 billion in exports of domestically produced unmanned aerial vehicles.
Baykar’s exports rose from $664 million in 2021 to $1.2 billion in 2022 and $1.8 billion in both 2023 and 2024 before reaching the new high last year.
The company, which has led Türkiye’s defense and aerospace exports for the past five years, remained among the country’s 10 largest exporters across all sectors for a third consecutive year.
Baykar has signed export agreements with 39 countries, including contracts with 36 countries for the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned combat aerial vehicle and 16 for the Bayraktar Akinci.
The company generates around 90% of its revenue from exports,both annually and cumulatively since beginning its research and development drive in 2003.
Baykar said it has financed all its projects through its own resources, without receiving state cash incentives, grants or order guarantees, and has not used bank loans since its establishment.
It finances its research, development and production activities by reinvesting its earnings while expanding into new high-technology fields, including space technologies.
The company employs more than 8,500 people across its domestic and international subsidiaries.
The USD/TRY exchange rate averaged 39.49 in 2025.
Source: aa