Mehmet Şimşek answered the question everyone is curious about: It is not currently on our agenda.

The Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, announced Turkey's economic roadmap in a television program he attended. Şimşek made important statements regarding the claims of VAT and tax increases, saying, "Let me say this clearly. Currently, there is no consideration of either VAT or general increase in our agenda as of today. There is no work on increasing the general rates of VAT that will affect the citizens. In other words, we are not planning to increase VAT rates at the moment."

Highlights from Minister Şimşek's statement are as follows:

"WE HAVE REDUCED THE CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT"

Our primary priority is to reduce the country's external vulnerability. This was one of our main goals. Our second headline is to control inflation. When we started last year, we meant this by macro-financial stability. As of May last year, we had a current account deficit of $57 billion. We reduced the current account deficit to around $19 billion. A significant achievement. We have significantly reduced the current account deficit. Our international reserves have reached around $147 billion as of today. There will be reserves over $153 billion. Our net reserves have improved by $78 billion. There is an improvement of about $90 billion as of last Friday. This has reduced our vulnerability. Our country's international reserves have increased.

"TURKEY IS REMOVED FROM THE GREY LIST"

Turkey has been removed from the grey list. This is an important achievement. If you have to open an account abroad, then there is a special review process for citizens and companies of countries on the grey list. Our reputation has increased. Turkey's reputation has increased. These are factors that reduce our external vulnerability and increase our resilience.

"WE HAVE LEFT BEHIND THE MOST CHALLENGING PERIOD"

We considered the first year as a transition year for inflation. We prioritized financial stability because we had vulnerabilities. We eliminated them. You need to manage vulnerabilities when making policies, setting frameworks, you always start with the most critical and benefit from the others over time. The conditions are such that they will increase inflation first. Then the monetary policy that can reduce it comes with a delay. We managed the FX risk, the exchange rate risk, and brought the budget deficit under control. If we hadn't done these, inflation could have been at a very different level. Now three technical units are sitting and saying, they have models that predict what will happen with the exchange rate, oil prices, etc. We took the average of this in our program. There was no intervention from us. By managing financial risks, we have crossed an important threshold. We are aware of the difficulties, our citizens are right to complain. I go to the market, my wife Esra said last week, let's stop by the market. Our citizens came, their complaints are valid. They are right, we have a livelihood problem. We have left behind the most challenging period. By managing financial risks, we have crossed an important threshold. We are aware of the difficulties, our citizens are right to complain. I go to the market, my wife Esra said last week, let's stop by the market. Our citizens came, their complaints are valid. They are right, we have a livelihood problem. We need to control inflation and bring it down for permanent prosperity and purchasing power. The decrease in inflation rate to around 40 does not mean that prices have decreased. The decrease in the inflation rate of the basket on average last year was 65%, this year it increased by 40%. Prices are increasing but at a slower pace. I want to emphasize this again. We are aware that low-income citizens are greatly affected, but there are no quick solutions.

WILL INFLATION FALL TO SINGLE DIGITS?

The biggest problem in Turkey right now is the difficulty of living and the deterioration of income distribution. We will reduce inflation to single digits again for permanent welfare increase. AK Party has achieved this before. The average inflation in the 90s was over 70. It was not easy. But we reduced inflation to single digits after 2003 and kept it there. Until the treacherous coup attempt. Relief will be felt very significantly in the second half of 2025. The rate of increase in prices has already slowed down. In general, service inflation becomes solidified and it takes more time to reduce it. Look, because it lags behind. For example, rent. Rent is included in service inflation, it is an important item. There was a 25% application limit for rents. This is lifted. Now, when you renew the rent, you look at the inflation of the last 12 months, right? Therefore, service inflation is more rigid and decreases more slowly. It will reflect a 20% increase in June and July next year. That's why we need time. The slowdown in price increases is felt to a noticeable extent.

"WE NEED PATIENCE AND TIME"

For example, we will increase housing supply. This year, 201,000 houses will be delivered in earthquake-prone areas. Next year, an additional 250,000 houses will be offered. There are also programs to increase housing supply in Istanbul. The decrease in services will be felt even more significantly. We are in need of time, patience is required. We did not apply shock therapy. We saw that this option is not correct. Our aim here is that we accept the high cost of living and I say that we prioritize macro stability in the first year. Reserves are no longer a problem. We have reduced major risks. We need patience and time. Our President's support is full.

DISCUSSIONS ABOUT PAYMENT WITH IBAN

IBAN has several dimensions. Our young people, especially, have serious dangers in using their IBANs for unknown individuals. The account you send to may be involved in money laundering. It can be used in financing terrorism. The most important issue for us is the informal economy. For example, you go somewhere and they say credit cards are not accepted. No institution can say this because we have combined the cash register with the POS machine. If it is a commercial IBAN, there is no problem. We have very sophisticated software. We look at whether there is a kinship or a commercial relationship. If there is a constant flow of money from unrelated accounts, it is already a suspicious situation.

WILL THERE BE NEW TAXES?

Let me say this clearly. Currently, there is no consideration of either VAT or general increase in our agenda as of today. There is no work on increasing the general rates of VAT that will affect the citizens. In other words, we are not planning to increase VAT rates at the moment. This program is built on three columns. The first is price stability. We are trying to increase purchasing power permanently with monetary policy and fiscal policy measures. This is our first priority. The second is generating resources for structural transformation, for earthquake-resistant cities. But the main goal is reforms and structural transformation. One of our biggest priorities is green transformation. In the last 21 years, our country has paid $905 billion for cumulative energy imports. Our energy imports are 1.4 times our current account deficit. Green transformation in energy is not a trend or a fantasy, it is a necessity. It is an obligation. What will this provide us? It means reducing dependence on energy imports.