Details of Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek’s meetings with the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) last weekend have emerged.
According to 10 Haber’s Erdal Sağlam, Şimşek said that after the election, he would not welcome anyone from the real sector asking for special loans or privileged financial facilities. Şimşek added that he was already declared as the ‘bad guy’ for standing against the demands for wage hikes.
Sağlam said that the heads of the chambers he spoke to about the meeting told him, “The man is very determined, and he is right… Inflation must be defeated and we clearly see that there is no other solution.” Şimşek was also quoted as saying, “We have made enough investments such as highways and airports, there will be no new investments for a while. We will only make the railway lines planned to connect the organized industrial zones to the ports as infrastructure investments.”
Şimşek responded to rumors about exchange rates by saying, “I don’t understand why people are still buying gold or foreign currency, although we have clearly said that the TL will appreciate in this process.”
‘YOU WILL HAVE A HARD TIME, DON’T ASK ME FOR ANYTHING’
Reminding that everyone wants something because of the elections, Minister Şimşek said that he did not want anyone to come to him after the elections for loans, financial facilities, in other words, to ask for money saying “You will have difficulties, I am already telling you this clearly, and don’t ask me for anything.”
Şimşek made it clear that this year will be especially difficult for the business world, saying that they have to do this, or else the economic climate would prevent the private sector from growing. Şimşek said that they have to reduce inflation to single digits as soon as possible and work to keep up with the changes in the world, adding that economic stability must be established as soon as possible in order to adapt to the green transformation and technological breakthrough.
Noting that he was the ‘bad guy’ for standing against the demands, Minister Şimşek said: “I am willing to be the bad guy, that is how my friends in the Cabinet see me. But we have to do this, I have to continue to be the bad guy”.
“We will intervene if exchange rates need it”
Şimşek’s evaluations were particularly focused on the exchange rate and tax increases.
Underlining that there will not be the exchange rate increase as expected by exporters, Mehmet Şimşek noted that intervention to TL could be made if necessary to keep the currency in the real appreciation zone in an effort to speed up disinflation.
Adding that various arrangements will be made for tax items, Mehmet Şimşek stated that there will be no change in income tax rates, but there may be an increase in some special consumption tax SCT items. On the other hand, he signaled that instead of a proportional increase in VAT rates, an arrangement might be to bring the products subject to low-rate VAT closer to the upper tier.
Şimşek underlined that there will be no new stock and safe amnesty, despite the increasing expectations in recent periods.
“Subsidized investment loans will continue to increase”
It is learned that Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, said that the Investment Commitment Advance Loans, which are used for projects that envisage an investment of at least 1 billion TL, will continue to increase. At this meeting, it was reported that the chamber presidents gave full support to Minister Mehmet Şimşek for the policies implemented.