NEWS Finance        15/05/2020

Turkey records a budget deficit of USD 6.2 billion for April 2020

The Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry has announced today its budget figures for the month of April 2020, for which a budget deficit of TL 43,198 million (USD 6,189 million) was shown, a 135.8% increase on the deficit of TL 18,317 million recorded in the same month of the previous year.

 

The Ministry announced total government revenue for April as TL 62,245 million (USD 8,918 million), including tax revenues of TL 49,125 million (USD 7,038 million), and budget expenditure as TL 108,443 million (USD 15,536 million), including TL 17,048 million (USD 2,442 million) in interest payments. April 2020 month end USD 1 = TL 6.98 rate was used.

 

For the first four months of 2020, there was a deficit of TL 72,779 million (USD 11,479 million), an increase of 33.6% on the TL 54,477 million deficit for the same period of the previous year. Total revenue was TL 320,994 million (USD 50,630 million), including tax revenue of TL 225,224 million (USD 35,524 million). Total expenditure was TL 393,773 million (USD 62,109 million), including interest payments of TL 55,296 million (USD 8,722 million). The average USD/TL rate used was USD 1 = TL 6.34.

 

Though a growing budget deficit in Turkey was expected this year as a result of the on-going economic recession and the government propensity to encourage growth, fiscal pressures have been further increased by the adverse economic effects of the restrictions in the movement of Turkey’s population due to coronavirus. The isolation of the population in their homes has resulted in a drastic fall in demand and consumer consumption. Many sectors have had to take drastic action, including laying off their workers. The Turkish government has had to provide financial support for low paid workers who no longer have any income at all and this burden has added to non-interest expenditures. The government has been forced to increase its borrowing resulting in a 235.5% increase in interest expenditure in April compared with the same month of the previous year. There has not been a fall in tax income surprisingly, but a fall is likely to be recorded in the coming months.

 

The budget deficit for the year of 2019 was TL 123,693 million, a 69.9% increase on the deficit figure of TL 72,813 million for the same period of the previous year. Total revenue for the year of 2019 is TL 875,796 million, including tax revenues of TL 673,315 million, and budget expenditure is TL 999,489 million, including TL 99,940 million in interest payments. Using an average exchange rate of USD = TL 5.65, the deficit for the year of 2019 is USD 21,893 million.

 

The 2020 budget foresees total expenditures of TL 1,095,461 million, total revenues of TL 956,588 million, and a budget deficit of TL 138,673 million. The budget deficit of TL 72,779 million for the first 4 months of 2020 is already 52.5% of the budget deficit forecast for the whole year.

Click here for budget report (Turkish)

 



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