Minister Şimşek: Our intention is to make lease agreements via e-Government.

Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek said, “Our approach is to help the Central Bank in reducing inflation. We expect the current account deficit to decrease to around 30-35 billion dollars. This is one of the best indicators that the program is working. In the summer, inflation will drop by 20-25 points.”

Minister Şimşek answered questions on the television program he attended. Şimşek noted that the economic program will yield strong results after 2024, that they have taken expenditures under control except for earthquakes, and have taken steps on the income side. Şimşek said, “Our approach is to help the Central Bank in bringing down inflation. We want to reduce the budget deficit below 3 percent permanently. We expect the current account deficit to decrease to around 30-35 billion dollars. This is one of the best indicators that the program is working. Inflation in the summer “It will decrease by 20-25 points. Monetary policy works with a delay. The Central Bank is taking additional tightening steps. We support this one hundred percent. Even in developed countries, there is a 12 to 18-month transfer period as a reflection of these moves,” he said.

‘THERE IS NO HESITATION IN MY MIND’

Şimşek said that the policies Turkey is currently implementing are in line with international norms and include comprehensive structural reforms. Stating that there is no easy or quick solution and that it takes time, Şimşek said, “This is all a matter of process, patience and determination, so I have no hesitation in my mind. I also believe that our citizens’ trust in this program will be strengthened and will be strengthened as they get results. The local elections are a few weeks away from here.” “Contrary to the claims, I believe that trust in the program will be strengthened. There are always some speculative movements, everyone’s expectations are different. We predicted this, that is, we predicted the possibility of these, these rumors, these desk speculations being produced. That’s why I said ‘do not trust’ for a long time.” he said.

‘WE WILL DRIVE INFLATION PERMANENTLY’

Stating that there is a very valuable, very strong team at the Central Bank, Şimşek said, “They will do whatever is necessary, we are behind them very strongly. Because our aim is to save our country, our nation, from this cost of living. We will reduce this inflation decisively. We are responsible for fiscal policy.” We are providing very strong support to the Central Bank in this regard, we will continue to do so and we will accelerate this, there is no hesitation on this issue. We will continue to support through structural reforms and productivity increase. We will bring down this inflation permanently, but it is not something that will happen overnight. “Successful programs took an average of 3, 4 years. It has only been a few months since we announced the program. As I said soon, all these uncertainties will disappear, hopefully we will focus strongly on disinflation, that is, reducing inflation, and all other areas,” he said.

‘THERE WILL BE NO TAX INCREASE’

Stating that some circles were trying to create uncertainty and distrust before the election, Şimşek said, “It has become such that they are very exaggerated statements. We will not do anything that we did not foresee in the medium-term program for the post-election period. Our stance on taxes is clear. We will not increase the Corporate Tax. We will not increase the Income Tax.” “We will not increase the general VAT rates. We have already said that if there are exceptions or discounted ones, we will review them. An additional rate for motor vehicles is not on our agenda,” he said.

Explaining that they will review the expenditures, Şimşek said, “We will direct them to more productive and efficient areas. We will fight against informality. We are working on very serious regulations. It will be a pinpoint shot. By fighting against unregistered spending, we will bring the budget deficit under control in a more permanent way. Informalization means being unfair.” “As of June, a new generation POS machine will be installed. We will develop algorithms for unregistered businesses. With artificial intelligence, the algorithm will notify us when water, bread or meat receipts are cut off in a busy restaurant of any city all day long,” he said.

‘RENTAL CONTRACTS WILL BE MADE THROUGH E-GOVERNMENT’

Şimşek stated that they want to make lease agreements via e-government within the scope of combating unregistered activities. Stating that they identified 4.5 million potential rental houses from the database a while ago, Şimşek said, “We knocked on more than 420 thousand doors in the last 2 months. We compared the information we had with the actual situation. The rental declaration must be submitted at the end of this month. Our aim is to increase voluntary compliance and provide guidance. “If we conduct an investigation in April regarding the declarations that have not been submitted, the taxpayer will face more severe consequences. Our aim is to ensure that citizens submit declarations by increasing voluntary compliance,” he said.

While Şimşek evaluated the exit from the gray list as “imminent”, he noted that the legal regulation regarding crypto assets is expected to be implemented in April-May. Şimşek stated that FATF will probably carry out an on-site inspection in May and the general assembly will be in June, adding that Turkey will be removed from the gray list in June.