Türk-İş demands re-evaluation of tax brackets
Stating that employees are facing a high tax burden, TÜRK-İş has demanded that tax brackets be updated according to the revaluation rate and that the brackets be increased by the revaluation rate every year.
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The Türk-İş Confederation has prepared a report containing current issues regarding taxation and proposed solutions to these problems.
The report, which was sent to members of the Presidential Cabinet, political parties with groups in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), and members of parliament, demands that taxes on wages be brought to a fair level.
The report stated that while the decision to exempt the minimum wage from taxation was appropriate, it is insufficient on its own to eliminate inequality and injustice in the taxation of wage earners.
The report, which determined that wage earners are facing a high tax burden due to the wage tax bracket not being increased as necessary over the years, noted the following:
"When looking at low and lower-middle income levels in our country, these wage earners have had to pay taxes at higher rates over the years. While taxes should be paid more or less according to the ability to pay, this situation has created the exact opposite for low and middle-level wage earners. For wage earners who are already unable to take many of their expenses into account when determining net wages, paying taxes at a higher rate fuels tax inequality. Although the tax taken from the minimum wage has been exempted in our country, the minimum wage is included in the cumulative tax base. This means that those who earn even slightly more than the minimum wage will soon reach a tax rate of 20 percent or 27 percent."
'THE FIRST BRACKET SHOULD NOT BE LESS THAN 14 TIMES THE MINIMUM WAGE'
The report stated that a fairer tax system would be possible by reviewing and correcting certain issues and practices that are disadvantageous to wage earners, and listed the demands as follows:
"There is a need for an objective and fair taxation policy for wage earners to have humane living standards worthy of their dignity. Our demand is for the tax bracket to be updated according to the revaluation rate. For the future, the bracket should be increased by the revaluation rate every year. Even if tax brackets are increased by the revaluation rate, it should be ensured that the first bracket is not less than 14 times the minimum wage; the second bracket not less than 24 times the minimum wage; the third bracket not less than 53 times the minimum wage; and the fourth bracket not less than 250 times the minimum wage."