Workers with 3 children to get tax exemption in Turkey

ANKARA

Workers on minimum wage will be exempt from income tax if they have three children, Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik announced. AA Photo

Workers on minimum wage will be exempt from income tax if they have three children, Labor and Social Security Minister Faruk Çelik announced on Dec. 31.

The net minimum wage will rise five percent to 846 Turkish Liras ($406) in the first half of 2014, Çelik told reporters following a meeting on minimum wage with representatives of employers and workers.

Another raise of six percent will follow in the second half, bringing the total amount to 891 liras ($428).

The two-stage raise of 5+6 percent is an improvement over 2013, which saw an increase of 4.1+4.4 percent.

Çelik also the minimum wage would now be the same for workers over and under the age of 16, a distinction that previously accounted for a 10-15 percent difference in salaries.

Tax exemption was valid for workers with four children, but the number was reduced to three one day after Bülent Arınç, deputy prime minister and government spokesman, announced the government’s decision on the issue after a Cabinet meeting.

The new minimum wage failed to meet expectations, according to Nazmi Irgat, a representative of the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Türk-İş), who said the wage should have been raised to at least 1,205 liras.

“We feel cheated because employers use the threat of unemployment as a weapon,” Irgat said, adding all workers at minimum wage should be exempted from income tax.

Metin Demir, representative of the Turkish Confederation of Employers’ Unions (TİSK), meanwhile, said the new minimum wage announced was above their expectations. The government expects an inflation of 5.4 percent for 2014 and the raise is almost double that number, he noted, adding the confederation also disagreed with the decision to make minimum wage the same for workers of all ages.