Budget flowing into interest is filled with taxes collected from the public

According to budget data released by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, the central government budget posted a deficit of 885.5 billion liras in the first four months of the year. The deficit for the month of April alone was recorded at 174.7 billion TL. While budget revenues reached 957.4 billion liras, expenditures amounted to 1.13 trillion liras.

INTEREST EXPENSES SURPASS HEALTH AND EDUCATION

The most striking item in the budget was interest expenditures. A total of 724.6 billion liras in interest payments were made in the January-April period. This represents a 98.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year. In April alone, 260.6 billion liras in interest payments were made. In the same month last year, this amount was 114 billion liras. Thus, while 15 liras out of every 100 liras of expenditure went to interest in April 2024, this rate rose to 23 liras this year.

360.6 billion TL was allocated to health services, and 584.6 billion TL was allocated to education services. However, interest expenditures surpassed these essential public services.

TAX BURDEN ON THE SHOULDERS OF THE PUBLIC

In the first four months of 2025, 2.81 trillion liras in taxes were collected. Tax revenues increased by 53 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. 53.2 percent of these revenues, or 1.49 trillion liras, consisted of Special Consumption Tax (SCT) and Value Added Tax (VAT).

Revenue from the Banking and Insurance Transactions Tax (BITT) reached 122.9 billion liras in the January-April period. The revenue obtained from this item showed an 80 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

WASTE CONTINUES: VEHICLE AND AIRCRAFT RENTALS ARE RISING

Public vehicle and aircraft rental expenses also continued to rise. In the first four months of the year, vehicle rental expenditures totaled 1.32 billion liras. The distribution by month is as follows:

January: 185.7 million TL

February: 336.9 million TL

March: 416.1 million TL

April: 382.2 million TL

In the same period, aircraft rental expenses reached a total of 925.6 million TL. In April, 254.6 million TL was spent on this item. Thus, the total expenditure for vehicle and aircraft rentals reached 2.25 billion TL. This amount was 2.08 billion liras in the same period last year.

Last year, in the January-April period, expenditures for printing and binding works reached 1.25 billion liras. Although no details have been provided regarding this year's data, this item continues to remain at the center of waste debates.

ELECTION EFFECT ON REPRESENTATION AND PROMOTION

Representation, promotion, and hospitality expenses are also noteworthy. The total expenditure from this item in the January-April period was 267.8 million TL. 82.8 million liras were spent in April alone.

In March 2024, during the period when local elections were held, the expenditure from this item had reached 714.5 million TL. This spike during the election period brought public expenditures made for propaganda purposes to the agenda.

SECRET FUND HITS A RECORD

The largest expenditure of the year from the secret fund, which is used by the Presidency and is not subject to audit, occurred in April. 1.64 billion liras were spent from the secret fund in this month. The January-April total reached 4.96 billion liras.

THE PALACE'S EXPENDITURES DO NOT STOP

Expenditures from the Presidential budget are also at a high level. In the first four months of the year, the Palace's expenditures were 5.36 billion TL. 32 percent of the initial appropriation was consumed during this period. An average of 1.34 billion TL was spent per month. This means an expenditure of approximately 31 thousand liras per minute.

News Source: 12punto