Agencies
Turkey will increase the minimum monthly pension payment by 25%, more than triple the fee local passengers are required to pay before traveling abroad and impose a minimum corporate tax on large multinational companies, a ruling party official said on Tuesday.
The minimum net pension will be lifted to TL 12,500 ($378) from the current TL 10,000, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) parliamentary group Chair Abdullah Güler told reporters in Ankara.The adjustments are part of the drafted new tax proposals that the government sent to Parliament on Tuesday. The AK Party and its allies hold a majority in the Parliament.
The regulation will affect 3.7 million of Turkey’s 15.8 million retirees and will bring an additional cost of some TL 33 billion to the country’s 2024 budget, Güler said.
The government had earlier said it had no plan to increase this year’s minimum monthly payment, citing its policy tightening and savings plans meant to curb soaring inflation.
Annual inflation dropped to 71.6% in June from a peak above 75% in May, beginning what is expected to be a sustained downward trend. The central bank has kept its policy rate at 50% in recent months after an aggressive tightening campaign and sees inflation ending the year at around 38%.
Under the draft law proposed by the AK Party, only the minimum pension payment would rise with no increase for retirees earning more.
The bill also includes new savings plans aiming to strengthen fair taxation, including a minimum corporate tax.
A minimum 15% corporate tax will be imposed on multinational companies that have more than 750 million euros ($817.58 million) in annual consolidated revenue, according to the draft bill, confirming earlier comments by the Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek.
The bill also imposes a 10% minimum corporate tax for local companies.