The Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry has announced today its budget figures for the month of March 2020, for which a budget deficit of TL 43,719 million (USD 6,654 million) was shown, a 78.6% increase on the deficit of TL 24,477 million recorded in the same month of the previous year.
The Ministry announced total government revenue for March as TL 47,443 million (USD 7,221 million), including tax revenues of TL 36,954 million (USD 5,625 million), and budget expenditure as TL 91,162 million (USD 13,875 million), including TL 11,340 million (USD 1,726 million) in interest payments. March 2020 month end USD 1 = TL 6.57 rate was used.
For the first quarter of 2020, there was a deficit of TL 29,581 million (USD 4,787 million). Total revenue was TL 255,749 million (USD 41,383 million), including tax revenue of TL 176,100 million (USD 28,495 million). Total expenditure was TL 285,330 million (USD 46,170 million), including interest payments of TL 38,248 million (USD 6,189 million). The average USD/TL rate used was USD 1 = TL 6.18.
The budget surplus recorded in the first two months of 2020 was largely due to the Turkish Central Bank having distributed accumulated contingent reserves and 2019 annual profit, amounting to a total value of USD 40.5 billion, to the Treasury. There was no such financial fall-back in March 2020 where a significant deficit has been recorded. With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic which has resulted in the isolation of the population in their homes, there will be a drastic fall in consumer consumption and therefore tax income in April and most likely in the following several months and a need to financially support people who no longer have access to living incomes. This will bring about a heavy burden on Turkey’s fiscal budget.
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.