Industrialists to no longer fund state-run broadcaster TRT: Minister

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Turkish industrialists will no longer have to contribute funds to the state-run broadcaster TRT, according to a top official.

“The industrialists paid 344.2 million liras [$95.95 million] to TRT in 2015. We are going to lift that condition on industrialists to pay their share to the broadcaster,” Science, Industry and Technology Minister Faruk Özlü said at a news conference in Ankara on May 10. 

According to the TRT Revenues Law, which went into force on 1984, all electricity consumers in Turkey contribute 2 percent of their monthly bills to TRT, which runs radio and television channels in several languages. 

Industrialists, especially those in the manufacturing industry, were required to pay millions to TRT from high electricity bills’ revenue. But now they will be exempt from doing so, according to Özlü.        

Instead of industrialists, TRT will now get a portion of its funds from Turkey’s national lottery revenues, he said.        

“Revenues from the lottery, not from our industrialists, will support TRT,” he said.        

Lottery, national lottery tickets and sports betting are popular in Turkey just like in other parts of the world. The New Year’s national lottery prize was worth 60 million liras ($16.7 million).   
     
The National Lottery Directorate currently offers six different lottery games, with total revenues from ticket sales and other sources in 2015, reaching 2.5 billion liras ($880 million).       
 
Özlü also said the property tax imposed on industrial zones will also be lifted.        

“The property tax share of organized industrial zones is 360 million liras [$100.2 million] per year. We are going to lift that too,” he said.