Political parties convenant on untaxed minimum wage

BURSA - Anatolia News Agency

Labor Minister Faruk Çelik exchange Feast of Sacrifice greetings with a boy in Bursa. A tax cut on minimum wage needs some study, he says. AA Photo

The four parties in the Turkish Parliament have agreed to remove taxes on the country’s minimum wage, but the issue still requires further calculations, Labor Minister Faruk Çelik has said.

“This is an issue that the parties agreed on in the Constitution commission,” Çelik said yesterday while answering journalists’ questions after the Eid al-Adha, or Feast of Sacrifice, prayer in Bursa. “It is not the outcome of a legal regulation.”

The tax cut is not on the legislature’s agenda, the minister said, adding that if the new Constitution includes such an item, a related law would follow.

‘A legitimate demand’

Turkey’s minimum wage commission, which also includes representatives of both employers and employees, will meet in December to decide on the new level for next year.

“We are working on increasing the minimum wage by raising it way above the inflation rate. But the tax on the minimum wage is an issue that also concerns the Finance [Ministry],” Çelik said. “This is a legitimate demand, a righteous one, but we should do it with balance. The era of spending lavishly is over with us.”

The net minimum wage in Turkey is 799.5 Turkish Liras ($443) but costs nearly 1,110 liras for the employer when tax and other costs are included.