Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek: I am also saving.

The Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, answered questions from AK Party deputies regarding the fight against the informal economy and tax issues. Minister Şimşek stated that no one wants to pay taxes and made striking remarks about the savings measures they have implemented.

"I AM SAVING TOO"

Minister Şimşek, who said, "It wouldn't be right if I didn't save while telling people to save," stated, "We have saved a total of 814 billion TL. For example, the old building of our Ministry of Treasury was not earthquake-resistant. A demolition decision was made. The colleagues said, 'Sir, there are 1,950 people here, there is no space, let's rent a new place.' I said, 'Absolutely not, you will be cramped, you will work like that.' We closed two general directorates and placed these people there. We did not reserve space to set an example for all other ministries," he said.

"HE CANNOT PROVE HE EARNED THE MONEY"

While explaining the issue of tax evasion, Minister Şimşek also presented a striking table. Şimşek said, "One of our citizens has bought 32 apartments in one of the metropolitan cities, and we have no tax record. He has never filed a tax return in his life. There are thousands of our citizens who buy luxury cars worth 65 million lira within a year. We call them and say, 'explain,' but they have no explanation. We say, 'Prove that you earned this money,' but they cannot prove it."

SHARED A FRIEND'S BARBER STORY

Minister Şimşek also shared an incident that happened to a friend of his at a barber shop with the deputies. "My friend goes to a barber in a luxury neighborhood in Istanbul, and the price is 2,500 lira. They do not accept card payments. When my friend says, 'I have no cash on me,' the tradesman replies, 'There is an ATM nearby.' Thinking he was being played with the exorbitant price, my friend was then told by the barber to send the payment to an IBAN. The bank manager says, 'If it belongs to the company or you, I can send it.' However, the barber claims that the IBAN belongs to his brother. My friend then says, 'The IBAN owner could be a terrorist or illegal. Take it from the card, or I am leaving,' but the tradesman charges an additional 500 lira commission and withdraws from the POS. We went to inspect that shop. No one came for a week. Because he called his customers and told them not to come. This is a matter of mentality. They all want cash or a 20-25% commission," he said.