Mahmut Gurcan, Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance, said, “We have steered our economy towards an economy model that is based on employment, prioritizes exports and increases investment. Over the past 6-7 months, we have entered a path that directs our economy towards exports, especially by lowering interest rates by the Central Bank.”
The “Economy Meetings” meeting held in 39 districts of Istanbul by the Economic Affairs Unit of the AK Party Istanbul Provincial Presidency continued with Sultangazi.
Sultangazi Mayor Abdurrahman Dursun, AK Party Sultangazi District President Suleyman Yigitoglu, business people and industrialists attended the meeting, chaired by Giyaseddin Gergin, AK Party Istanbul Provincial Vice President, Head of Economic Affairs Unit, with the presentation of Deputy Minister of Treasury and Finance Gurcan.
Gurcan said that the Economic Meetings Program was held in various regions of Turkey from Kayseri to Sirnak.
Noting that the Turkish economy is oriented towards exports, Gurcan said, “After the pandemic process we experienced in the economy, especially in 2020, in 2021, with the decision of our President and government, we have now steered our economy towards an economy model based on employment, prioritizing exports and increasing investment. Since the last 6-7 months, we have entered a path that directs our economy towards exports, especially by reducing interest rates, especially the Central Bank.”
“FROM 2003 TO 2020, TURKEY GROWED 3.4% ON AVERAGE EVERY YEAR”
Gurcan, emphasizing that the Turkish economy continued to grow during the global epidemic period, continued his words as follows:
“Turkey has grown by an average of 3.4% every year from 2003 to 2020. However, with the pandemic last year, there was a serious contraction in the world after 2020. In 2021, the world shrank by 3.1%. However, the Turkish economy recorded a growth of 1.8%. In this context, Turkey has become one of the two growing countries along with China. China, on the other hand, grew by about 2.3%. In all other countries, especially in India, 7.3% jobs in the European region experienced an economic contraction of 6.3%. Turkey took this as an advantage for itself.”
Stating that Turkey is the country that recovered the fastest from the effects of the epidemic, Gurcan made the following assessment:
“Turkey has been one of the countries that recovered the fastest from the impact of the epidemic. And with a growth of 22%, it quickly returned to normal life after the epidemic. In the third quarter of 2021, it is still one of the fastest growing countries with a rate of 7.4%. The contribution of domestic demand to growth in the first 3 quarters was 6.7%, while the contribution of foreign demand was 5.1%. This shows that we have a very balanced growth. It easily shows that the ratio of not only domestic demand but also foreign demand to domestic demand is approximately, and thus, we see a balanced growth. These tables really show the strong economy of Turkey.”
DECREASE IN THE NUMBER OF COMPANIES ANNOUNCING CONCORDANCE
Gurcan pointed out that while the number of established companies has increased, the number of companies that have closed and declared concordat has decreased. While this rate was 1,109 in 2018, approximately 298 companies declared concordat in 2021.”
Reminding that the Central Bank keeps the policy rate constant, Gurcan said, “Policy rates in Turkey are far below inflation from time to time,” and “There is no way to go with a policy of low-interest rates than inflation.” There are statements such as ‘Inflation plus interest should be given’. However, while inflation is 7 in the USA, interest rates are 0.3, while inflation is now 5 in the EU, interest rates are at 0, and inflation is above the interest rate all over the world.
Gurcan concluded his speech by emphasizing that a one-point corporate tax reduction was accepted for export and manufacturing industry companies:
“The regulation regarding the exclusion of dividends obtained in mutual funds was also approved by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. We will issue income-indexed securities in the upcoming period. We will implement priority sector lending programs. With project banking, we will increase the support to our industrialists on a project basis, and we will also simplify the Value Added Tax. Regarding this, our minister has a very serious request, he has a request. In particular, he believes that Value Added Tax should be in front of our citizens in a more simplified way, not at various rates. We also have a study on offsetting. To ensure that the state’s receivables and individuals are set off in one place.”
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz