Debates on government’s 2025 budget set to start this week

ANKARA

A long tour of discussions on the government’s 2025 budget will start this week with a presentation by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz at the planning and budget commission.

Following the discussions at the commission, lawmakers are expected to vote on the draft budget at the national assembly in December.

Yılmaz last week unveiled the details of the 2025 budget, which envisages a total spending of 14.73 trillion Turkish Lira and revenues of 12.8 trillion liras.

The budget forecasts a deficit of 3.1 percent of GDP for next year, down from an estimated deficit of 4.9 percent of national income in 2024.

“The budget aims to boost investments, employment, production, export and welfare,” the vice president said at a press conference in the capital Ankara.

The government allocated 1.57 trillion liras for investments in the draft budget for next year, corresponding to some 10.7 percent of the planned expenditure.

Another 1.6 trillion liras have been allocated for defense and 2.1 trillion liras for education.

On the revenue side, the budget forecasts a 45.4 percent increase in overall tax collection to 12.7 trillion liras in 2025 with a more than 46 percent rise in special consumption tax to 2.15 trillion liras.

The government expects to raise 1.7 trillion liras in corporate tax, implying a 53 percent increase from 2024.

Special consumption tax collected from tobacco and alcoholic beverages is forecast to rise by 49 percent to 466 billion liras and 49.8 percent to 171 billion liras, respectively.

In the first 9 months of 2024, overall revenues were up 77 percent from a year ago to 6.1 trillion liras with tax revenues rising 72 percent annually to 5.1 trillion liras, showed the latest central government budget data from the Finance Ministry.

The budget posted a deficit of 1.1 trillion liras in January-September, up 110 percent, while the primary deficit widened 287 percent to 161 billion liras.

“This is the is a budget for environmental sustainability and technological transformation towards a green and digital economy,” Yılmaz said.

The government is steadfastly implementing its fiscal policy in a manner that will keep expenditures under control, gradually reduce the public deficit, and maintain budget discipline, he added.

The 2025 budget proposal is consistent with ensuring fiscal discipline, maintaining economic stability and supporting sustainable growth, according to Yılmaz.