Minister Şimşek: We will announce the austerity package on Monday

Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek announced that they will unveil the public austerity package on Monday, May 13. 

Şimşek said, "We will take steps regarding many issues related to public finance. On Monday, we will announce the austerity and efficiency package together with Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz. This is the first, and it will not be the last." he stated.

Highlights from Minister Şimşek's statements are as follows:

Our ultimate goal is sustainable high growth.

This program includes a transition period. Specifically, we have envisioned a transition period for disinflation.

The economic program is working. At the center of the program is rebalancing, which means eliminating imbalances in the macroeconomy.

The contribution of net exports in the first quarter was positive.

We cannot get anywhere with exchange rate and interest rate subsidies.

It will be a significant step toward sustainable high growth. 

We will reduce the current account deficit to below 2.5 percent. Normalization in gold imports will bring this about. Those who benefit from the gold import practice are not pleased.

We will prioritize investment, employment, production, and especially exports. We are pursuing an economy of efficiency; we want austerity. To the extent that you practice austerity, you can increase investments.

"THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH ACCESS TO FINANCING IN BANKS"

Access to financing at banks has reached a good point; there is no problem with access to financing.

The program is working very well, and there is no problem with access to global financing. Turkey's position in international banks is very strong. Our Treasury is working, and since our program is also working, interest in Turkey will increase.

Currently, credit rating agencies are upgrading our ratings. The outlook is positive for all of them; this means they will increase our ratings even further.

Turkey's risk premium is declining, which in turn reduces our financing costs.

Inflation is high, and they might say it will rise in May as well, but our country experienced an earthquake in the last 12 months. This has a sectoral pressure as a budget deficit.

Some of the measures we took to prevent the budget deficit from reaching 10 percent were inflationary, but they were one-time events. 

"WE WILL NOT INCREASE TAXES"

We will not increase taxes, and inflation will come down in a permanent way.

We will announce the austerity measures package next week on Monday. On Monday, together with Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, we will announce the austerity and efficiency package.

We have increased some taxes, but we will not increase them this year. By then, these effects will disappear in July and August.

Our work regarding how we will manage this disinflation process in the coming period will continue without interruption. 

Our most important goal is for inflation to fall to single digits, and we will do whatever is necessary for this.

We will not increase income tax.

We will strongly support our exporters, and we will not hesitate at all regarding productivity and competitiveness growth.

Improving the investment environment is one of our most critical goals, and the prerequisite for this is price stability.

News Source: 12punto