Varlık Vergisi

The Varlık Vergisi (Turkish:, "wealth tax" or "capital tax") was a tax mostly levied on non-Muslim citizens under the Republican People's Party (CHP) government in Turkey in 1942, with the stated aim of raising funds for the country's defense in case of an eventual entry into World War II. The underlying reason for the tax was to inflict financial ruin on the minority non-Muslim citizens of the country, end their prominence in the country's economy and transfer the assets of non-Muslims to the Muslim bourgeoisie. It was a discriminatory measure which taxed non-Muslims up to ten times more heavily and resulted in a significant amount of wealth and property being transferred to Muslims.

The tax was also meant to target nationals of other countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, the USSR, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland, among others, but after complaints from multiple embassies, Turkey was forced to back off.

Some historians consider the tax to have been a form of economic and cultural genocide.