The Chairman of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen (TESK), Bendevi Palandöken, made a call to the government regarding the hikes in many items from electricity to natural gas with the new year.
Stating that electricity, natural gas and other hikes according to the 36,2 percent revaluation rate will negatively affect all segments, especially tradesmen and craftsmen, Palandöken said, “Our shopkeepers, who could not afford to pay the Insuranced Self-employed Institution (BAG-KUR), tax and rent of the workplace and had a difficult time in the pandemic, cannot afford these hikes. In fact, they cannot operate their refrigerator, and they cannot turn on the lamps of the shop windows that illuminate the street. Considering this situation of tradesmen, flexibility should be applied in price hikes and revaluation rates. Special tariffs should be applied to tradesmen in electricity and natural gas.”
DRIVERS SHOULD ALSO BE PROTECTED
Expressing that the price hikes in gasoline, diesel and LPG apart from electricity and natural gas, the driver tradesmen’s waist are bent even more, Palandöken stated that protective measures should be taken for driver tradesmen.
“If the driver tradesmen are not protected against these hikes, dolmushes, taxis, trucks and minibuses cannot start the ignition or start the engine. For this reason, Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) and Value Added Tax (KDV) should be reduced,” Palandöken added.