Minister Şimşek compared and listed 8 countries: The minimum wage in Turkey is not low.

In a live broadcast on Habertürk, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek made evaluations regarding the economic agenda and stated that he does not agree with those who claim that the minimum wage in Turkey is low.

"THE MINIMUM WAGE IN TURKEY IS NOT LOW"

Referring to developing countries as an example, Minister Şimşek stated that the minimum wage in Turkey is not low and said, "Look at the countries in Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and compare them with Latin America, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Bulgaria and Hungary in Europe. Except for Poland, we have the highest minimum wage among developing countries. The minimum wage in Turkey is not low."

"THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN DOLLAR TERMS"

Minister Şimşek stated that significant increases have been made in the minimum wage during the AK Party government and said, "In the last 20 years, we have increased the minimum wage by 5.5% in real terms. Turkey's real growth rate is 5.4%. In the 90s, the minimum wage was around 100 dollars, but during the AK Party period, there has been a significant increase in dollar terms. The minimum wage increase is 49%. In the first 6 months, inflation will be in the 20s. At the end of the year, the upper band of the Central Bank will be 42%. Even if it remains like this, it corresponds to a minimum wage equivalent to more than growth."

Highlights from Minister Şimşek's statements;

"Teamwork was effective in this regard as legislation work had been done before. It is easy to get on the gray list, but it is difficult to get off. Monaco was put on the gray list. There are countries that are members of the EU and are also on the list. The gray list is such an issue. The main thing is to ensure effectiveness in practice. We put a program to solve many problems as soon as we came. We also entered into special work on this issue. We would not have been able to get off this list without the support of our Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Justice. This is teamwork and effectiveness in practice. The evaluations of our prosecutors and judges on these issues are very important. MASAK played the leading role. Since June last year, this was the main agenda item in all the meetings I attended with finance ministers. This was a technical process. Our financial system needs to be reliable. We did not do this to get off the list. Getting off the list is an important gain. We wrote a letter through MASAK to see if political considerations could come into play at some point. This was what kept us on the list. Our citizens who operate abroad know this very well. Opening a bank account abroad, acquiring assets. If you are on the gray list, you are subject to additional scrutiny."

"STRONG CAPITAL INFLOW"

Capital inflow has been very strong in recent months. It is accelerable. We are already dealing with how to manage this strong capital inflow. It threatens the disinflation process. You need to withdraw liquidity. As of the end of March, the dimension reflected in the reserves of the Central Bank reached the level of 78 billion dollars. It is unprecedented in the financial history of Turkey. As of now, we have almost reached the desired level of reserve adequacy according to the IMF definition. They have a definition, and we have almost reached 1 out of 1 according to that. According to the figures announced last week, gross reserves have reached the level of 148 billion dollars. We have significantly reduced the swaps with banks and reduced them to the level of 5 billion dollars. As the swaps taken from banks mature, we are closing them. While net reserves were -60 billion dollars at the end of March, they have now reached +12 billion dollars. We have eliminated the problem of foreign exchange reserves. As we reduce inflation, stability in the nominal exchange rate will be achieved. There has been appreciation in the lira in real terms compared to the past, ensuring a permanent reduction in inflation and nominal stability in the medium and long term.

"WE HAVE ESTABLISHED A STRONG DIALOGUE"

There is the announcement of Moody's right after the decision, which is expected to have a positive impact. This program has many aspects. The successes and developments in those areas support the program. The trust in our financial system is very important. In early May, we went through a process with the EU and Western countries. I told them that whether Turkey gets off the list or not, we will fight against money laundering and fight against the financing of terrorism. Turkey was removed by unanimous vote. We established a strong dialogue. Even if we had not been removed from the list, we would have fought very strongly. We will strengthen the administrative and technical capacity of MASAK. We live in a risky geography. Everyone can try to exploit our system. We will bring artificial intelligence into play in this regard. We succeeded, and we will continue to succeed. Monaco has just been added to the list at the center of the EU."

"THE COST OF EYT IS 724 BILLION LIRA"

We are explaining the program to many groups both domestically and internationally. We have made a diagram, the beginning of the diagram is rational policies in line with international norms. It brings investor confidence, increases interest in the Turkish lira. It prioritizes the Turkish lira. We ensure lirization based on trust. This also brings balance and stability in the real exchange rate. This also brings disinflation. Last year at this time, Turkey had imbalances accumulated from external shocks, the election process, etc. One of them was the current account deficit. Turkey's current account deficit was 57 billion dollars in May last year. When the data for this May is announced, it will be announced as 26 billion dollars. We will put forward a new industrial policy. The ratio of external debt to national income will decrease. It will allow us to accumulate reserves permanently. With the impact of earthquakes and EYT. EYT has been implemented with the populist push of the opposition. The cost of EYT this year is 724 billion lira. You are talking about a figure close to 2% of national income. We have efforts to ensure fairness and efficiency in taxation. This was the second important imbalance. In fact, the main source of inflation was the 4% growth in the second quarter of last year. This growth posed a serious problem in terms of balance.

"EXIT FROM KKM WILL ACCELERATE"

KKM had reached 144 billion dollars at its peak, and it has fallen below 63 billion dollars. Most likely, the decline will accelerate. There has been a continuous decline in KKM for 44 weeks. It was a step that hindered the functioning of monetary policy. It was a factor that reduced the effectiveness of monetary policy. As of today, the tax advantage of companies in KKM has ended. We have imposed taxes on deposits for individuals. Now, interest income earned from KKM will also be subject to tax, and the exit from KKM will accelerate.

"PURCHASING POWER WILL NOT ERODE RAPIDLY"

Our citizens will start to feel it, in fact, they are already feeling it. Employment remained strong. Look at the last 20 years, we have found jobs for an average of 690,000 citizens per year. There can be no permanent increase in welfare without employment. We will enter a temporary slowdown process in the economy.With the decrease in inflation, the real wage increases will be reflected at that time. When you look at inflation in May, inflation is 75.5 percent. That is the inflation of the last 12 months, the inflation of the next 12 months will be 31.8 percent. It says it will decrease to 20 percent in 24 months. Our target is for inflation to fall below 42 percent. We will talk about 2 percent on a monthly basis. We will enter the period where the purchasing power of wage increases will be felt. Inflation had dropped to 3 percent on a monthly basis. The purchasing power will not erode rapidly. The big waves in the exchange rate are causing concern. The relative stability in the exchange rate will also be reflected to the citizens. There are extraordinary factors that raised inflation last year. We will not succumb to populist pressures. We have the ability to create resources out of nothing, it is a matter of psychology. Creating something out of nothing is unique to God. We will increase the permanent welfare of our nation. The sole priority of the program is sustainable high growth and sharing the achieved welfare. We will be in a very different position next year. We will continue to fight against those who refuse to pay taxes even though they earn.

If you look at the texts of the opposition, I don't know what they will implement or not. Turkey's risk premium was 700 basis points last year, now it is around 270. Turkey has reduced its risk by 10 times compared to developing countries.

"WE WILL GIVE SHARE TO CITIZENS FROM REAL GROWTH"

We need to look at Turkey's opportunities and priorities. It is the fair distribution to all segments of society. We did not and will not let minimum wage earners, retirees, and workers be crushed by inflation. We will give them a share from real growth. Our citizens will say, my purchasing power is not decreasing with the wage, inflation will slow down.

"THE WIND WILL START TO BLOW FROM BEHIND"

From 2025 onwards, interest rate cuts will come in the world. Probably, even if very lightly, the winds blowing from the opposite direction in the last 12 months will start to blow from behind.

"WE WILL ACHIEVE RESULTS BY EXPANDING THE TAX BASE"

In the market, the text that is being discussed is circulating in some way. Neither the Ministry of Finance nor the economy is responsible for coordination. At the point we have reached now, we did not have a work like taxing tips. Neither the courier nor the tip issue is in the package. Unfortunately, many segments in Turkey are trying to avoid taxes. We will achieve results by combating informal economy. We will achieve results by expanding the tax base. Establishing justice in taxation, more from those who earn more, less from those who earn less. The ratio of all taxes collected to national income is 34 percent in the OECD, 41 percent in the EU. 2, 20.8 percent in Turkey. The ratio of premiums, fees, and taxes to national income is not even 21 percent. We will not impose a new tax burden on our citizens. The lowest income tax bracket used to be 22 percent, our government reduced it to 15 percent. The uproar raised is not true. Currently, VAT is 1 percent in food. We exempt fertilizers and feed of our farmers from VAT. We apply 10 percent VAT in education, textiles, and food and beverages. We have made 850 thousand tradesmen completely exempt from taxes. We will impose a minimum of 15 percent corporate tax on multinational companies. We are working on minimum corporate and income tax domestically. Last year, the average monthly income for jewelers was 16,040 liras, and for doctors it was 27,376 liras. We will take authority, make revenue determination, ask for explanations from those who make false statements, and if the explanations are not satisfactory, we will take the necessary action.

There is a tax exemption in some investment funds. We are considering removing the tax exemption for REITs. We will increase the tax on projects made with build-operate-transfer to 30 percent, and we will include crypto assets in the tax scope. We are working on the taxation of stock market gains. Our program is very clear, we adhere to this program. "