CHP delegation to meet finance minister for tax talks

ANKARA

A delegation from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is set to meet with Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek in the coming days to propose reforms for a "fair tax system."

The decision was reached during President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's landmark visit to the CHP headquarters, the first in 18 years.

The meeting comes after CHP leader Özgür Özel’s earlier discussions with Erdoğan at the Justice and Development Party (AKP) headquarters on May 2. This was the first direct engagement between AKP and CHP leaders since 2016.

During the talks, Özel said he conveyed his concerns about the minimum wage, pensions and grain prices.

"I said, 'Are you looking for a source, let's find it together,'" Özel stated at an event in Amasya, criticizing the indirect tax system, which taxes expenditures rather than income or gains.

"A fair tax should be the opposite... We presented our proposal to Mr. Erdoğan yesterday for a fair tax system," he stated.

"Three esteemed economic experts of our party will meet with Mehmet Şimşek in the coming days to concretize our proposal for fairness in taxation."

Meanwhile, media reports said the dialogue between Erdoğan and Özel will continue. The latter is expected to call Erdoğan to extend Eid al-Adha greetings this weekend.

Additionally, Erdoğan has invited Özel to attend a ceremony in Nicosia on July 20, commemorating the anniversary of Türkiye's 1974 military operation in Cyprus. The CHP leader expressed a positive response to this, suggesting another potential meeting on the island next month.

The recent meetings, labeled as "softening in politics" by Erdoğan and "normalization" by Özel, have led to a series of dialogues between ministers and their CHP counterparts.