Naci Agbal

An additional 7.8 percent special consumption tax has been added for alcoholic beverages in July, automatically in line with Turkey's producer price index in the first half of the year.

The government announced last week that tobacco products would not see any tax hike in the second half of the year over inflationary concerns, but it did not mention alcoholic beverages.

Turkey will not hike taxes on cigarettes in 2017 in a bid to contain inflation, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal told Reuters on June 30, as the government continues to struggle with double-digit growth in annual consumer prices.

The Turkish government has delivered the necessary compensation to the families of the victims of Israel's 2010 raid on the Mavi Marmara flotilla, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said on June 23, after controversy over delayed payments.

Turkey ran a budget surplus of 6.4 billion Turkish Liras ($1.8 billion) in May, mainly thanks to a significant boost in tax revenues, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal stated on June 15.       

The surplus was boosted by a 20.3 percent leap in tax revenue, taking tax revenue to 50.9 billion liras ($14.5 billion), Ağbal said in a written statement. 

The Turkish government has collected almost 23 billion Turkish Liras ($6.5 billion) through its latest debt and tax restructuring plan, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal told state-run Anadolu Agency on June 2. 

The Turkish government has collected 21 billion Turkish Liras ($5.9 billion) in line with the latest debt and tax restructuring plan, a top official has said, adding that a fresh system would slash the need for another restructuring plan. 

The government restructured a total of 120 billion Turkish Liras ($33.6 billion) public receivables and tax debts in a recent plan, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal said on May 24. 

Ağbal added that tax offices would be open over the weekend to receive last-minute applications, for which a May 31 deadline has been set. 

The Turkish government ran a budget deficit of 17.9 billion Turkish Liras (around $5 billion) in January-April and 3 billion liras (around $843.5 million) in April, mainly due to a rise in state incentives to back the economy. 

The impact on the state budget of recent measures to boost Turkey's economy will only be minimal and will gradually decrease, Finance Minister Naci Ağbal has said.  

Turkey is set to introduce a new system to increase the data quality in tracking suspicious transactions, in line with efforts to boost the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing, senior officials announced on April 26.