Naci Agbal

Turkey promised the European Union last week that it would complete secondary tax regulations soon, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said on Nov. 23, adding that it was out of the question for the bloc to include Turkey in a blacklist of tax havens.

High inflation in Turkey and a surge in foreign borrowing by its banks could plunge the country into crisis as soon as next year, according to asset manager GAM, which has cleared its portfolio of all positions in Turkish assets.

The government has introduced significant rises in a number of taxes, including a 40 percent rise in personal cars, in line with the new medium-term economic program unveiled on Sept. 27., Hurriyet reports.

Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said a draft would be sent to parliament soon to raise corporate taxes in the financial sector from 20 percent to 22 percent.

The government has unveiled its new medium-term economic program, including a series of ambitious targets in growth, jobs, inflation, and national income per capita. 

The program, which covers the period between 2018 and 2020, was announced in Ankara on Sept. 27 by Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek along with Finance Minister Naci Ağbal and Development Minister Lütfi Elvan. 

Global e-commerce companies will be liable for taxes on goods sold directly to Turkish customers under a draft law proposed by Turkey's government, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said on Sept. 15.

He told the state-run Anadolu Agency that the budget deficit will be at around 60 billion Turkish Liras ($17.5 billion) by the end of the year.

Turkey's unemployment rate held steady at 10.2 percent in June, which covered the May-July period, unchanged from the levels of one month and one year earlier, data from the Turkish Statistics Institute (TÜİK) showed on Sept. 15.

Sales of ethyl alcohol in supermarkets are reportedly skyrocketing across Turkey, as many locals opt to produce alcoholic drinks at home, including the traditional beverage rakı, amid rising taxes on alcohol. 

Turkey ran a budget deficit of 24.3 billion Turkish liras (nearly $6.7 billion) in the first seven months of 2017, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said on Aug. 15. 

Indirect taxes on tobacco, alcoholic beverages and automobiles are too high, Turkey's Finance Minister has said, vowing no further hikes will be made in indirect taxes this year, in a bid to help ease the country's inflation rate 

Turkey ran a budget deficit of 25.2 billion Turkish Liras (about $6.9 billion) this January to June with fiscal measures to stimulate the economy costing nearly 12 billion liras ($3.3 billion), Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said on July 17.