Turkey’s budget deficit at $2.4 billion in March

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

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Turkey’s government ran a 6.6 billion-Turkish Lira ($2.4 billion) budget deficit in March, the country’s finance minister said April 15.

The deficit was 200 million liras lower compared to the 6.8 billion-lira deficit recorded in March last year, Naci Ağbal said.        

Government revenue in March stood at 46.8 billion liras – an 11.4 percent increase year-on-year. Budget expenditure totaled 40.3 billion liras, up 22.3 percent from a year earlier.        

“The budget performance in the first three months clearly indicates the government’s determination to maintain fiscal discipline,” Ağbal said.        

The central government budget showed a surplus of 46 million liras in the first three months of the year.    
    
According to the ministry, the Turkish government’s budget revenue reached 131.7 billion liras in the first three months of the year, a 16.4 percent increase compared with the same period last year.       

Tax revenue also increased by 12.7 percent within the period to 108.5 billion liras. Budget expenditures between January and March rose to 131.7 billion liras, marking an 11 percent increase year-on-year.    
   
Interest expenses stood at 16.5 billion liras in the period, a decrease of 9 percent.        

In 2016, the Finance Ministry estimated that budget expenses for the fiscal year would reach 570.5 billion liras, while budget income would reach 540.8 billion liras, resulting in a budget deficit of 29.7 billion liras.