Turkey to realize key tax, financial and production reforms in short run: Deputy PM

ANKARA

Turkey’s government is set to realize key reforms in the areas of production, tax, severance pay and new financial instruments in the short run, a top official said May 5. 

Speaking in his opening speech at the Coordination Board for Improving Investment Climate meeting in Ankara, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said Turkey would continue to make reforms.

“In the short run, we will realize reforms in the areas of production, taxes, severance pay and new financial instruments,” he said.

Canikli said Turkey’s high economic growth performance would never be abandoned.

“The 3.5 percent growth in the last quarter of 2016 is one thing that has showed this. Despite a failed coup attempt and other negative developments, we succeeded in attaining a high growth performance. In this vein, international organizations have started to revise up their Turkey outlook one by one. We will achieve a higher than 4 percent growth in 2017,” he added. 

The Institute of International Finance (IFF) revised up its 2017 growth estimate for Turkey from 3 to 4.2 percent on May 4. It also revised up its 2018 forecast from 3.2 to 3.5 percent.

Turkey grew 2.9 percent in 2016. 

“We will also have much better figures in some key indicators, which were hit during fluctuating times, including the unemployment rate, the inflation rate and interest rates,” he said, adding that single-digits in these areas would be achieved by the year’s end. 

Turkey’s unemployment rate rose to 13 percent in January 2017, the highest since the beginning of 2010. 

Canikli said more than 1 million new jobs have been created in Turkey since the beginning of the year, in line with a number of packages to boost employment. 

He also said a total of 225,358 companies have so far used 160 billion Turkish Liras in loans under the heading of a recent loan scheme with the support of the Credit Guarantee Fund.