Mehmet Şimşek

As part of its effort to keep a tight eye on taxpayers who make large incomes and lead lavish lifestyles yet fail to pay the proper taxes, the Treasury and Finance Ministry has commenced tracking transactions of luxury yachts and boats.

Interest in Türkiye is growing, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said on social media platform X, after holding talks in Germany during a one-day visit.

He had productive meetings with executives of large companies and investors in Germany, the minister said.

"We are intensifying our efforts to increase international direct investments, which is our main goal," Şimşek added.

Türkiye's annual inflation will decline around 30 percent in the first quarter of 2025, before easing further down to the 20 percent range in June or July, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

"I sincerely believe that by the end of 2025, we will be able to reduce inflation to below 20 percent," Şimşek said in an interview with private broadcaster CNN Türk.

Türkiye's current account balance posts a surplus for the second month in a row in July, data from the Central Bank have shown.

The current account surplus increased from $330 million in June to $566 million in July.

Türkiye has seen its ratings upgraded by major rating agencies in 2024 thanks to the government's economic program, Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said, hailing Fitch's decision to lift the country's rating.

"With our medium-term program, we will make permanent the gains we have achieved in the last year and further increase confidence in our economy," Şimşek wrote on X.

Türkiye's economy is expected to grow by 3.5 percent this year before the GDP expansion accelerates to 4 percent in 2025 and 4.5 percent in 2026, according to the government's medium-term economic program revealed on Sept. 5.

The Turkish economy grew by 2.5 percent in the second quarter of 2024, cooling from a revised 5.3 percent expansion recorded in the January-March period, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) have shown.

"We have left behind a difficult period in which we significantly reduced vulnerabilities," Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek commented on the growth data.

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has stated that his ministry will release the names of taxpayers with outstanding tax liabilities and penalties amounting to 5 million Turkish Liras ($146,750) or more to the public.

Türkiye's annual inflation rate is expected to decrease to 55.2 percent in August, down from 61.78 percent in July, according to an Anadolu Agency poll of economists.

The survey found that the monthly inflation rate is projected to be 2.64 percent for August, a decrease from 3.23 percent in July.

The economists' forecast for year-end annual inflation is 42.84 percent.

Türkiye's foreign trade deficit declined by 41.8 percent year-on-year in July to $7.3 billion as exports rose and imports dwindled, data from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) have shown.

Exports amounted to $22.5 billion last month, increasing 13.8 percent from July 2023, but imports plunged 7.8 percent annually to $29.8 billion, TÜİK said on Aug. 28.