21.03.2018 Kocaeli
TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, participating in the council meeting of Kocaeli Chamber of Industry, said that they are working with the Finance Minister on VAT receivables and agreed that the private sector would receive VAT of 160bn TRY from the state. Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “They will pay this to us in installments. We will get back our Value Added Tax returns, which we have not received since 1985.” Hisarcıklıoğlu warned business people about employment incentives in the past, also requested that they not be late on this issue.
Hisarcıklıoğlu made a speech at the Council meeting hosted by Ayhan
Zeytinoğlu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kocaeli Chamber of Industry.
He began by praying for the grace of Allah upon the soldiers martyred during Operation
Olive Branch in Afrin for the sake of our country. The TOBB President, praising
the dynamism, mobility and prosperity in Kocaeli, “I take the morale and
motivation I get from you to the other 80 provinces. Kocaeli is a city of commerce,
industry and agriculture. Kocaeli is a center of industrial production. After
Istanbul, it has the highest per capita national income. It is the province
where majority of production takes place. A fifth of the total foreign trade
volume of Turkey is carried out at Kocaeli customs. There are 35 ports in the
Gulf of İzmit in Turkey and you rank first in freight handling volume. You also
give the biggest contribution to the government. You are 2nd in tax
income and 1st in tax collection rate. In other words, the most
honest and the highest tax paying entrepreneurs who support their government
are in Kocaeli. I have also looked at the figures of Kocaeli. In 2017, Kocaeli
is above the national average for new company establishment, income and
corporate tax and exports. Of the top 1000 industrial establishments, 10 years
ago, 46 were in Kocaeli; now you have increased this number to 64. Kocaeli's
entrepreneurial spirit is also strong. Of Turkey's top 100 fastest growing
companies, 7 are from Kocaeli.”
- Online document and
One-Stop-Shop
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Kocaeli owes a part of its fortune to having
strong chambers which defend the rights of the private sector. He said that all
the Chambers in Kocaeli are accredited and offer 5-star service.
Hisarcıklıoğlu, who stated that these efforts were made for the prosperity of
Kocaeli, “I would like to thank the chamber of industry which brought us
together today. We’ve listed to Chairman Ayhan as well. Kocaeli Chamber of Industry,
with its constantly developing and enhanced endeavors, its institutional
capacity, is always behind our industrialists. It does not just identify and
fix problems. It also suggests solutions to these and enables them to be
actualized. The Chamber is also very active in the field of social
responsibility. One such project is the Bizimköy Disabled Production Center. I
am proud of our chamber. From our President, to the Board of Directors and Council;
from our women and young entrepreneurs, to the Secretary General, to the academic
advisor and all of our employees, may Allah bless you. We work together with Chairman Ayhan in TOBB and IKV,
and benefit from his knowledge and experience.” Hisarcıklıoğlu, who provided
information about the online document and the One-Stop-Shop projects, explained
that they are oriented towards servicing their members at the highest level of
quality.
- What chambers/exchanges do
Hisarcıklıoğlu, in
regards to what TOBB and the chambers community has been doing in the for the
past year, underlined that they are doing very important things in financing.
Stressing that that they provided 8 billion TRY to 290,000 companies with 9.9%
interest under the Respite Credits, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that KOSGEB also
provided loans to 290,000 companies with a 0-interest, 3-year maturity and that
as Credit Guarantee Fund, they are guarantors for 364,000 companies for 221
billion TRY. TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that a total of 681,000
companies were reached in Turkey, with 234bn TRY provided in finances.
Hisarcıklıoğlu
pointed out that the cost employment is the most important complaint of the
business world, and thanks to the mobilization of employment initiated to this
end, the Turkish private sector has provided 1.5 million additional jobs.
Hisarcıklıoğlu underlined the importance of incentives provided as a part of
the employment mobilization. “The monthly minimum wage support of 100 TL will
continue in 2018. When you hire someone, new premium and tax is covered by the
state. You will only pay salary. So 1,600 TL is from you, 800 TL is tax + premium.
Incentives will be in full force for 3 years. In the meantime, remember to
request your retroactive incentives.”
I also want to draw
attention to the issue of Vocational Qualifications. Dangerous and very
dangerous jobs 81 In profession mandatory. There is a penalty of 627 liras for
each employee. Examination and documentation costs up to 2020 from the state.
TOBB Vocational Qualifications and Documentation Center (MEYBEM). Between 2016
and 2018; 68 provinces and 24 thousand people provided the opportunity to
document after the exam. Kocaeli Sanayi Odamız also works actively. This area
received 505 documents. On the other hand, the Industry - Production Reform
package was removed. 2% TRT discontinuance, important regulations were made in
property tax and stamp tax matters in OIZs. In total, the 1 billion burden on
our business world has been lifted.
- Turkey's automobile
Reminding that,
during TOBB’s 73rd General Assembly, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued
a call to have the domestic car be built by members of TOBB, Hisarcıklıoğlu
said, “We said, ‘If you are behind us, we'll do it.’ We’ve been working busily
with the Minister of Industry and we are ready to reveal our 5 champions. We announced
them with our President. Now provinces are competing to have the factory is
set up there. According to feasibility, the 5 champions will make a decision. I
hope the first prototype will emerge in 2019. In 2021, commercial sales will
begin.”
- YOIKK endeavors
Reporting that Turkey ranks 60th in the world ease of doing
business and investments index, Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that this is unsuitable
for Turkey. Stating that their goal is to enter the top 20 as Turkey,
Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “To this end we’ve worked on many on action plans with the
minister. We’ve prepared over 100 reforms. As an example, there are 18
different procedures mandatory to acquire building permits, which will be
simplified down to 6. With the amendment to be made in the Building Inspection
Law, the number of signatures in the building permit is also reduced from 18 to
1. In addition, Contingent and SSI declarations will be merged. One company was
required to present 40-45 tax declarations per year. This number is being
reduced to 12.”