Budget deficit narrows in September, shows data

ISTANBUL

The central government budget ran a deficit of 100.5 billion Turkish Liras of deficit in September, down from a gap of 129.6 billion liras in the previous month, data from the Finance Ministry has shown.

Revenues grew 89 percent year-on-year to 831 billion liras last month, while expenditures rose by 63.4 percent to 932 billion liras.

Tax collection increased 89.6 percent from September last year with value-added tax and special consumption tax revenues rising 62 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

Interest expenditures were up 110 percent to 149 billion liras, while non-interest expenditures amounted to 783 billion liras, pointing to a 57 percent annual increase.

Consequently, the central government budget posted a primary surplus of 48.2 billion liras in September against a primary deficit of 58.5 billion liras in the same month of last year.

In the first nine months of 2024, the budget produced a 1.1 trillion deficit, widening by 109.5 percent compared with the same period of 2023.

Revenues increased by 77 percent year-on-year with tax revenues rising more than 72 percent.

Expenditures were up 81 percent in January-September, the ministry said.

The primary deficit widened 287 percent year-on-year to 161.3 billion liras in the first nine months of 2024.