A new era at Bolu Municipality: We are charging the rich more and the poor less

In the second session of the Bolu Municipal Council for April, it was unanimously decided that water fees will be charged in a way that the wealthy pay more and the poor pay less.

Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan stated, "We are charging the rich more and the poor less. But in total, we are still collecting the same amount."

The Bolu Municipality 2024 Activity Report was accepted exactly as prepared.

Under item (b) of the agenda, a historic decision was made regarding water fees. According to the decision, owners of luxury residences will now pay higher water fees, while low-income citizens will benefit from a 50 percent discounted tariff.

The proposal, read by CHP Council Member Ali Sarıyıldız, included the following statements:

"It has been decided to add the following article as the 9th article to page 52 of the 2025 Revenue Tariff Schedule, to be effective from 01.05.2025: 'Water fees for residences (excluding VAT) will be applied according to the Table on the Determination of Building Construction Classes published in the Official Gazette dated 15.12.1982 and numbered 17899 as follows: 1st Group: Luxury construction - 50 percent more than the current fee tariff, 2nd Group: 1st class construction - 15 percent more than the current fee tariff, 3rd Group: 2nd class construction - current fee tariff, 4th Group: 3rd class and simple construction - 50 percent discount on the current fee tariff.'"

Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan said the following in his speech regarding the agenda item:

"Friends, I made a call on social media regarding this issue: I asked, 'How is this being evaluated?' I realized that this call received significant feedback. I also learned through this occasion that there are different practices. For example, in Scandinavian countries, even traffic fines are issued according to income. It is not a fixed figure like in Turkey; if the income is high, the fine is high, and if it is low, the fine is low. Also, as a society, we seem to have forgotten Article 73 of our Constitution. Article 73, under the heading 'Tax Obligation,' states: Everyone is obliged to pay taxes according to their financial capacity to meet public expenditures. The fair and balanced distribution of the tax burden is the social objective of fiscal policy. In other words, our Constitution says: 'You shall not take equally from everyone to meet public expenditures; you shall take according to their financial capacity.' This applies not only to taxes but also to non-tax fees that fall within the scope of municipal revenues, such as water. Indeed, Article 97 of the Municipal Revenues Law No. 2464 is also regulated in this direction. It states there as well: 'Public expenditures are not met equally, but according to financial capacity.' Furthermore, during my research, I came across a communiqué from the Ministry of Finance: Serial No: 31. This communiqué clearly states: 'When determining fees, action shall be taken in accordance with Article 73 of the Constitution.'"

"WE ARE CHARGING THE RICH MORE AND THE POOR LESS"

Stating that mayors from other provinces called him due to his previous announcements on the subject, Mayor Özcan said, "Actually, we should have implemented this practice much earlier. After my post on social media, a few mayors also called me; they were also convinced. Friends from the opposition party in the commission also gave their support. Most likely, they will also switch to this practice after us. In summary, this is what we are doing: We are charging the rich more and the poor less. But in total, we are still collecting the same amount."

Following Özcan's speech, the article was unanimously accepted by the council as it came from the commission.

News Source: İHA