Turkish government's budget deficit exceeds $15.8B in Q1

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Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Ministry reported that central government budget expenditures totaled 692.8 billion Turkish liras in March, with budget revenues amounting to 483.8 billion liras, resulting in a budget deficit of 209 billion liras ($6.5B). 

Additionally, non-interest budget expenditures reached 618.3 billion liras in March, leading to a primary deficit of 134.4 billion liras.

Budget expenditures in March increased by 107.4 percent compared to the same month of the previous year. 

In the January-March 2024 period, central government budget expenditures were 2.15 trillion liras, budget revenues were 1.54 trillion liras, and the budget deficit was 513.5 billion liras ($15.8B).

In the first quarter of 2024, primary budget expenditures were 1.9 trillion liras and the primary deficit was 263 billion liras.

In the first quarter, budget expenditures increased by 105.9 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, while primary budget expenditures rose by 101.3 percent.

The largest expenditures in the current budget were transfer payments, accounting for 38.9 percent, followed by personnel expenditures at 30.9 percent.

In March, tax revenues totaled 420.5 billion liras, while tax revenues in the first quarter were 1.34 trillion liras.

In the first quarter, the largest tax revenue came from value-added tax (VAT) on imports, comprising 22.5 percent, followed closely by special consumption tax at 21.1 percent.