The 2024 budget is a budget of fiscal collapse

The 2024 Fiscal Year Central Government Budget Law Proposal has been submitted to the Office of the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

This budget proposal, prepared by the President and sent to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for deliberation, is a budget that has no effect on the TBMM and is, in one respect, void.

Whether the TBMM approves this budget or not has no meaning or significance. If it does not approve it, the provisional budget application goes into effect.

The President multiplies the figures of the 2022 budget by the revaluation rate and applies it for one year.

The problem is that the President, who is the head of the executive branch, prepares the budget and sends it to the legislative body, and therefore the President exercises the power of the budget.

However, in all democratic parliamentary systems, the legislative body exercises the power of the budget. For this reason, while the legislative body should actually be delegating authority to the executive in terms of budget implementation, this situation works in reverse in our country.

The Assembly should not take on the responsibilities of this budget, which is a budget of fiscal collapse, high price hikes, high taxes, high borrowing, and high inflation. The most important duty of the TBMM is the power of the budget. An assembly that cannot exercise this right should question itself and discuss its own existence.

There is no chance for the Republic of Turkey's economy to sustain the 2024 budget, which is valued at 11 trillion TL. Only a country with a GDP of at least 2.5 trillion TL can sustain a budget of 11 trillion.

However, the GDP is 1 trillion dollars with flawed figures. The total expenditure of the 2023 Central Government Budget was prepared as 4.4 trillion TL.

Budget revenues were prepared as 3.8 trillion TL. Since this budget was insufficient, a supplementary budget of 1.1 trillion TL was made. The 2023 budget was increased to 5.5 trillion TL.

The 2024 budget has been increased by 100% to 11 trillion TL. Just 4 items amount to 8 trillion TL. Interest expenses are 1.2 trillion, the budget deficit is 2.7 trillion TL, current transfers are 1.3 trillion TL, and personnel expenses are 2.8 trillion TL.

Personnel expenses were projected at 960 billion TL for 2023. It has been increased by 300% for 2024.

Although inflation is projected at 33% for 2024, with this budget, inflation will be over 150%. Despite the 2024 budget being increased by 100%, growth is projected at only 4%.

A 4% growth brings contraction and poverty in a high inflationary period.

The dollar exchange rate was projected at 23.88 TL for the end of 2023, but the dollar exchange rate has now exceeded 28. If we look at the currency-protected deposit scheme; the burden of currency-protected deposits on the public for the January-July 2023 period is 752 billion TL.

152 billion TL of this was covered by the budget and 600 billion TL from Central Bank resources. The Central Bank's gross reserves are 123 billion dollars, net reserves are -55 billion dollars, and the amount of debt to be paid within 1 year is 211 billion dollars. The government needs to find 266 billion dollars for 2024.

In conclusion, the 2024 budget is an election budget. A supplementary budget will be inevitable after the election.

Financially and economically, 2024 will bring worse results than 2023. We must be prepared for high interest rates, high exchange rates, high borrowing, high budget deficits, high taxes, and high price increases.