Following a meeting between AKP President Erdogan and CHP Chairman Ozgür Özer, it was decided that, at Erdogan’s suggestion, Minister of Finance and Treasury Mehmet Symşek would meet with Deputy Chairman Yalçin Karatepe, who is in charge of the Ministry of Finance in the CHP Shadow Cabinet.
The meeting between Yalçin Karatepe and Mehmet Şimşek will take place on Monday, June 24. Karatepe shared with Cumhuriyet the topics that were planned to be covered during the meeting.
Kara Tepe stressed that the meeting does not mean the preparation of a joint economic plan with the AKP, saying that the agenda will include the increase in the minimum wage and pensions that the people expect, agricultural support that has been called for to be increased, data on TÜİK PPP projects and wealth funds.
Minimum wage and retirement benefits
Recalling the government’s statement that “the minimum wage will not be increased and pension increases will be limited,” Karatepe said, “We will say that we are against impoverishing economic policies. We will say that the minimum wage should be increased in 2020, at least as much as the inflation difference from July.”
Karatepe said he plans to put pensions on the agenda, saying: “I will argue that pensions should be increased by the rate of inflation plus a welfare rate.”
Proposal for justice in tax matters
Explaining his proposals on tax fairness, Yalçin Karatepe said: “Currently, two-thirds of tax revenues consist of indirect taxes. This is an unfair tax. We believe that a significant increase in taxes, starting with the corporate tax, is essential.”
There is a lack of agricultural support.
“The current law stipulates that agricultural subsidies should not be below 1 percent of national income. This regulation was never followed during the AKP era,” he said.
Kara Tepe said the much-debated TUIK data would be a separate topic, adding: “They will say that PPP projects are a huge burden for the people.”
Karatepe also conveyed his criticism of wealth funds, saying they should be liquidated over time.
