Finance Minister: Turkey's budget deficit well within targets so far

The government ran a TL 4.1 billion ($1.6 billion) deficit for the first four months of 2015, the Finance Ministry reported Friday. There was a budget surplus of TL 1.4 billion in April, a deficit of TL 6.8 billion in March and TL 2.4 billion in February, with a TL 3.8 billion surplus in January. "The budget deficit in the first four months is lower than last year, which was TL 4.2 billion. The budget performance in 2015 is stronger than last year," Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said in the statement. According to the ministry, government budget revenues have reached TL 156.2 billion in the first four months of 2015, a 12.9 percent increase compared with the same period of 2014. Budget expenditures for the same period rose to TL 160.2 billion, marking a 12.3 percent increase year-on-year.

Turkey's government revenue in April was TL 43 billion with a 26.1 percent increase year-on-year while budget expenditures were TL 41.6 billion, a 13 percent increase from a year earlier. The Finance Ministry has estimated budget expenses for the 2015 fiscal year will reach TL 473 billion while budget income will reach TL 452 billion, resulting in a budget deficit of TL 21 billion. Şimşek forecasted Turkey will reach its budget deficit goal in 2015 as an increase in political predictability and improved domestic demand after the upcoming elections will contribute to budget revenues. "The deficit constitutes 19.4 percent of the year-end target. The number is compatible with our estimated TL 21 billion budget deficit for 2015," he said. The government's budget ran a deficit of TL 22.7 billion in 2014.