Page 31 - TURKRptMay20

businesses and households in the face of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, according to Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak.
“Some TRY12.1bn has been allocated as direct financial support to 2.1mn households. Each family has received TRY1,000 cash under this scheme,” Albayrak said on April 14 in a video posted on Twitter, adding that the government would reach out to another 2.1mn families.
Also, nearly TRY6.7bn has been disbursed to small businesses and self-employed persons under the financial support package, according to the minister.
“We have extended another TRY36.3bn to our larger companies,” Albayrak said.
In the video, he also lashed out at private banks for failing to respond quickly enough to meet the financial needs of businesses.
“We are aware of the problems our citizens are having with private lenders. We are hearing from our industrialists that those ​banks charge high fees on those who seek to restructure debt and those who want to withdraw money from time deposit accounts​. We cannot tolerate such exercises,” Albayrak said.
The key question here is how strong the country’s public finances will prove to be amid the new economic strain.
The central government budget deficit soared to TRY43.7bn in March
versus a shortfall of TRY25bn a year ago. Revenues plunged 13% on an annual basis while expenditures rose by 16% y/y in the month.
"The Covid-19 related halt in economic activity has started to take its toll on public budget results, as total tax revenues point to around a 20% [annual] deceleration in real terms," Serkan Gonencler, economist at Seker Invest, wrote in a note.
The government has paid the salaries of 3mn employees ​to bail out firms hit by the coronavirus (COVID-19) upheaval, state-run news service Anadolu Agency ​reported​ the country’s labour minister as saying on April 20.
6.1.2​ Budget dynamics - tax issues 6.1.3​ Budget dynamics - privatization
Turkey’s corporate tax statements and payments due April 30 have been postponed to June 1.
Turkey’s sovereign wealth fund, TVF, has been provided with special powers that permit it to acquire stakes in companies under steps proposed by the government.
It is unknown whether the TVF is sitting on any cash as it is exempt from any kind of audit and has not released any financials or annual reports since it was founded four years ago.
The wealth fund holds stakes in leading state-owned enterprises. They include a 49% stake in Turkish Airlines, 7% in Turk Telekom, 100% in Ziraat Bank, 51% in Halkbank and various holdings in Turkish Petroleum, Botas, PTT, Turksat, Borsa Istanbul, Milli Piyango, TCDD, Turkish Maritime Enterprises, Eti Maden, Konya Seker, Caykur, horse racing licences and some real estate
31​ TURKEY Country Report​ May 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com