In Bolu, a new era in water bills: More will be charged to the rich, and less to the poor.

14.04.2025 23:10

In the second meeting of the Bolu Municipal Council in April, it was unanimously accepted that water fees would be collected more from the rich and less from the poor. Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan stated, "We collect more from the rich and less from the poor. But in total, we are still collecting the same amount."

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The Bolu Municipal Council's second meeting of April was held today. In the meeting chaired by Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan, the issues referred jointly to the Planning and Budget Commission and the Various Affairs Commission were discussed. The Bolu Municipality 2024 Activity Report was accepted as prepared.

MORE FOR LUXURY HOMEOWNERS, 50% DISCOUNTED BILLS FOR LOW-INCOME CITIZENS

In item (b) of the agenda, a historic decision regarding water fees was made. According to the decision, luxury homeowners will now pay more for water, while low-income citizens will benefit from a 50% discounted rate.

WILL BE VALID FROM MAY

In the proposal read by CHP Council Member Ali Sarıyıldız, the following statements were included: "It has been decided to add the following article as item 9 to the 52nd page of the 2025 Income Tariff Schedule, to be applied from 01.05.2025: 'The water fees for residential use (excluding VAT) will be as follows according to the Classification of Building Construction published in the Official Gazette dated 15.12.1982 and numbered 17899: Group 1: Luxury construction - 50% more than the current fee schedule, Group 2: First-class construction - 15% more than the current fee schedule, Group 3: Second-class construction - current fee schedule, Group 4: 50% discount will be applied on the current fee schedule for third-class and simple construction."

"FAIR AND BALANCED DISTRIBUTION OF THE TAX BURDEN IS THE SOCIAL PURPOSE OF FISCAL POLICY"

Bolu Mayor Tanju Özcan, in his speech regarding the agenda item, said: "Friends, I made a call on social media regarding this issue: I asked, 'How is this being evaluated?' I realized that this call was seriously responded to. I also learned that there are different applications in this regard. For example, in Scandinavian countries, even traffic fines are imposed based on income. It is not a fixed amount like in Turkey; if income is high, the fine is high, and if low, the fine is low. Also, it seems that we, as a society, have forgotten Article 73 of our Constitution. Article 73 states under the title 'Tax Obligation': 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 purpose of fiscal policy. In other words, our Constitution says: 'You will not collect equally from everyone to meet public expenditures; you will collect according to financial capacity.' This applies not only to taxes but also to non-tax fees that fall under municipal revenues, such as water. Indeed, Article 97 of the Municipal Revenues Law No. 2464 is also regulated in this direction. It also states: 'Public expenditures are not equal; they are met according to financial capacity.' Additionally, during my research, I came across a circular from the Ministry of Finance: Serial No: 31. This circular clearly states: 'When determining fees, the provisions of Article 73 of the Constitution will be followed.'"

"WE TAKE MORE FROM THE RICH, LESS FROM THE POOR"

Mayor Özcan stated that he received calls from mayors of other cities due to his previous announcements on the subject, saying, "Actually, we should have implemented this practice much earlier. After my post on social media, a few mayors also called me; they liked the idea as well. Friends from the opposition party in the commission also supported it. Most likely, they will also adopt this practice after us. In summary, we are doing this: We take more from the rich, less from the poor. But we still collect the same total amount."

UNANIMOUSLY ACCEPTED

After Özcan's speech, the item was unanimously accepted in the council as it came from the commission.