ANKARA
The Turkish government seeks to raise more income from its tax on luxury goods, cars, alcoholic beverages, and other specialty items.
The Turkish government aims to raise 94.4 billion Turkish liras ($42 billion) from the special consumption tax in 2015, compared with 65.3 billion liras ($29.2 billion) collected in the first nine months of this year, according to the government budget forecast.
The government also aims to raise 85.3 billion ($38.1 billion) Turkish lira from income tax and almost 40 billion lira ($17.8 billion) from corporation tax. Income from special tax receipts in 2014 are forecast at 89.3 billion liras ($39.8 billion).
Car buyers in Turkey were expected to pay 8.8 billion liras ($3.9 billion) in motor vehicle taxes. The government also expects to collect 10 billion liras ($4.4 billion) in stamp tax and 71.8 billion liras ($32.1 billion) in value-added tax.
The government also expects to collect even more in special consumption tax revenue in 2016 -- 101.9 billion liras ($45.4 billion) in that year, and 110 billion liras ($49.1 billion) in 2017.
People who smoke are expected to pay nearly 26 billion liras ($11.6 billion) in tax on tobacco products to the government in 2017. The government also expects to collect 8.9 billion liras ($3.9 billion) in fines imposed on Turkish citizens by the government’s agencies.
Separately, the Finance Ministry has estimated budget expenses for the 2014 fiscal year at 436.4 billion liras ($195 billion), while budget income for 2014 is estimated at 403.2 billion liras ($180 billion); this will bring the budget deficit to 33.3 billion liras ($13 billion).
The biggest share of the 2014 general budget was allocated to the Education Ministry with 79.7 billion liras ($35.6 billion); the Ministry of Health came at second place with 75.1 billion liras ($33.5 billion).
Turkey ran a budget deficit of 2.7 billion Turkish lira ($1.2 billion) over the January-to-August period, Turkey's Finance Ministry reported on September 5.
The number constitutes 8.2 percent of the estimated 33.3 billion lira budget deficit for 2014, the ministry said in a statement.
"The number shows that the country will comfortably reach its target for the deficit," Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said.
Turkey's budget expenses increased by 10.1 percent, excluding payments on interest, to 286 billion lira ($127.7 billion) in the first eight months, while total income increased by 8.9 percent, reaching 283.2 billion lira ($126.5 billion).
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