Page 50 - TURKRptDec19

According to the law, the government will collect accommodation tax directly from the revenues of tourism facilities. The tax is to come into force in April next year. Initially the tax rate will be 1%, but it will increase to 2% in 2021.
6.1.2​ Budget dynamics - privatization
Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, known as TVF, on November 7 said that it has mandated the Development and Investment Bank of Turkey and Ernst & Young Turkey to evaluate strategies of horse racing and betting operations​. The objective was to assign one or more qualified private operators over a pre-determined term with the support of advisors, it added in a statement.
In early July, TVF hired consultancy Ernst & Young to advise on the privatisation of the country’s national lottery, Milli Piyango.
TVF was last year subject to management structure changes that essentially placed it under the control of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The wealth fund, worth $50bn, was set up in 2016 to develop and increase the value of Turkey's strategic assets. TVF has stakes in major Turkish companies including flag carrier Turkish Airlines, big banks and Turk Telekom.
Last week, TVF said it wanted to buy the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD’s) 10% stake in the Istanbul stock exchange.
The EBRD reportedly moved to dispose of its 10% stake in Borsa Istanbul after Turkish officials failed to consult it before appointing a former Halkbank executive—who was jailed in the US for taking part in a conspiracy to evade sanctions on Iran—as the stock exchange’s CEO. The development bank is opposed to the appointment of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, who returned to Turkey after his release from prison in the US in July.
6.2 ​Debt
TURKEY -DEBT
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
Oct/19
Budget: gross debt (LC bn)
586
613
678
760
876
1,067
1,261
Budget: gross debt (% GDP)
32.4
30.0
29.0
29.1
28.2
28.8
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50​ TURKEY Country Report​ December 2019 ​ ​www.intellinews.com