Türkiye on Sunday raised the tax on petrol to help to fund a TL 1.12 trillion ($42.2 billion) increase to its 2023 budget after devastating February's earthquakes and the May presidential election sent spending soaring.
The additional fuel tax will help with a budget deficit that jumped to TL 263.6 billion in the first five months of the year, up from TL 124.6 billion a year earlier.
The wider deficit was large because of increased spending ahead of the May elections when President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected for a third term, as well as on rebuilding work after the earthquakes in southern Türkiye.
The quakes claimed over 50,000 lives, toppled hundreds of thousands of buildings, left millions homeless and severely damaged the southeastern region's infrastructure. Business groups, economists and the government have said rebuilding could cost more than $100 billion.
In the latest step to strengthen the Treasury's cash reserves, the tax rate for gasoline was increased to TL 7.52 per liter from TL 2.52, while the tax on diesel oil rose to TL 7.05 from TL 2.05.
The impact of the tax adjustments, coupled with value-added tax (VAT), was expected to add about TL 6 to the final pump price, up more than 20% a liter, Reuters calculations showed.
The TL 1.12 trillion boost to Ankara's budget was approved by Parliament on Saturday and follows various other recent tax increases among efforts to bolster the government budget, including a two percentage point increase to VAT.
