The recent economic uncertainty will not last long and Turkey’s growth rate will be around 4 percent in 2014, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Tuesday.
Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek predicts economic uncertainty will not last long
The recent economic uncertainty will not last long and Turkey’s growth rate will be around 4 percent in 2014, Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Tuesday.
In a live broadcast interview with a private TV channel, Simsek stressed that they had taken all precautions regarding the budget balance and macroeconomic politics.
Referring the increase in special consumption tax (SCT) in the automotive sector, he stated such measures were taken to decrease negative effects on the budget deficit since 78 percent of automobiles sold in Turkey are imported.
Increased taxes on cell phones are not revenue-oriented, but rather aim to limit the imports of these goods and remove negative effects on the budget deficit, he added.
In reference to concerns among the automobile sector that a SCT increase will negatively affect unemployment, he explained that their intention is to encourage self-sufficiency by increasing Turkey’s production and exports while reducing the need for imported goods and technologies.
“Frankly we give really serious incentives to production, export and investment. If necessary we can increase these incentives. We will do whatever it takes to support production, export and investment,” he said, adding that “in products that have high import components, this strategy will continue.”
AA