Turkey’s budget posts nearly $6 billion deficit in first four months of 2018

ANKARA

Turkey’s central government budget balance saw a deficit of 23.2 billion Turkish liras ($5.98 billion) in the January-April period, the Finance Ministry announced on May 15. 

According to an official statement, Turkey’s budget revenues stood at 232 billion liras ($59.8 billion) from January to April, going up by 17.3 percent on a yearly basis.

In the same period, the budget expenses amounted to 255.2 billion liras ($65.8 billion), marking an 18.3 percent annual rise.

Excluding interest payments, the central government budget balance saw a surplus of 2.2 billion liras ($569.5 million) over the same period.

The budget gave a 2.8 billion lira ($721 million) deficit in April, down from a 3 billion liras ($773 million) in the same month of 2017.

Excluding interest payments, the central government budget balance saw a surplus of 356 million liras ($91 million) over the same period.

Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said works continue to realize the budget realizations in line with the targets by the year end.

“The April tax income performance has confirmed that our tax incomes would be higher than our targets at the end of the year,” he added, as the tax income saw a 21.5 percent year-on-year increase in April.