Budget deficit shrinks in October

ANKARA

The central government budget posted a deficit of 95.5 billion Turkish Liras ($3.3 billion) in October, declining from the previous month’s 129 billion liras of deficit, data from the Finance Ministry have showed.

Expenditures increased by 85.2 percent last month from a year ago to 569 billion liras with interest expenditures rising only 9.3 percent. The annual increase in non-interest expenditures, however, soared 104 percent.

Budget revenues stood at 474 billion liras in October, exhibiting a robust 111 percent increase from the same month of last year.

Tax collection increased 125 percent year-on-year. Value-added tax revenues leaped 240 percent, while year-on-year increase in special consumption tax revenues was more than 130 percent.

Consequently, the central government budget produced a primary deficit or 28.7 billion liras in October, down from the primary deficit of 58.5 billion liras the budget posted in September.

In the first 10 months of 2023, the budget deficit amounted to 608 billion liras, rising from 129 billion liras in the same period of last year.

Expenditures and revenues increased by 94 percent and 78 percent, respectively, in the January-October period.

The budget posted a primary deficit of 70 billion liras against the primary surplus of 160 billion a year earlier.

In the latest medium-term program, the government forecast that the budget deficit will be 1.63 trillion liras or 6.4 percent of the estimated GDP in 2023. The government expects the budget deficit to be 2.65 trillion liras or 6.4 of national income in 2024.

According to the government’s estimates, the deficit will decline to 3.4 percent of GDP in 2025 and further down to 2.5 percent in 2026.