Gov’t delays plan to tax credit cards for defense funding
ANKARA
The Turkish government has postponed until 2025 a parliamentary debate on a proposed tax on credit cards, which would be introduced to boost defense funding.
The bill stipulated that people with a credit card limit of at least 100,000 Turkish Liras (nearly $3,000) would have to pay an annual 750 liras in tax from January to bolster the defense industry.
The bill, which stirred public debate since its announcement last week, was initially set for deliberation in the parliamentary budget commission on Oct. 15, before it could proceed to the general assembly.
However, merely hours later, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary head Abdullah Güler declared that the discussions were deferred to 2025 for a more thorough review.
“There had arisen a need for additional resources, both for this year and the forthcoming years, and we had submitted our proposal in line with that. Yet, objections emerged regarding a more meticulous examination of certain elements included in the proposal, alongside concerns raised by our citizens,” Güler told reporters after the talks were concluded.
“In light of this, we have opted to scrutinize the proposal further, with an intent to reassess if any aspects warrant reconsideration,” Güler stated.
“We have thus concluded the discussions for the time being, and the proposal is deferred for now. We will undertake a comprehensive review of the contentious aspects as well as the amounts in other categories, to potentially revisit them during subsequent budget negotiations."
Responding to a question, Güler said that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also instructed officials to carry out a renewed examination of the proposal.
On the same day, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said, "Our country has no choice but to increase its deterrent power. There's war in our region right now. We are in a troubled neighborhood.”
In an earlier statement, Güler said that the government aims to create additional resources for investments in the defense industry, noting that Türkiye is developing unmanned aerial vehicles, warships and other technologies with around 3,500 companies in the defense industry.
