Turkey runs $1.8B budget surplus in May

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA

Turkey ran a budget surplus of 6.4 billion Turkish liras ($1.8 billion) in May Finance Minister Naci Agbal said Thursday.

The surplus was boosted by a 20.3 percent leap in tax revenue, according to ministry data, to take tax revenue to 50.9 billion liras ($14.5 billion).

Total government revenue for the month stood at 57.5 billion Turkish liras ($16.4 billion), a 16.1 percent increase year-on-year.

Budget spending was 51.1 billion liras ($14.6 billion), an increase of 11.4 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the ministry.

Between January and May, the country ran a budget deficit of 11.5 billion Turkish liras ($3.29 billion), Agbal said. “Incentives, introduced by the government to support economic growth, had a significant impact on the deficit,” he added.

The same period last year saw a budget surplus of 9.1 billion liras ($3.1 billion).