Turkish central government budget posts $7.4B deficit in April

Budget revenues climb 23.9% year-on-year to $25.9B, while expenditures rise 34.7% to $33.3B

Türkiye’s central government budget posted a deficit of 338.7 billion Turkish liras ($7.4 billion) in April, as expenditures rose faster than revenues, official data showed Friday. Budget revenues increased 23.9% year-on-year to $25.9 billion in April, while budget expenditures climbed 34.7% to $33.3 billion, according to the Treasury and Finance Ministry. In the January-April period, the central government budget balance recorded a deficit of $16.66 billion. Budget revenues rose 54.3% from a year earlier to $113.9 billion in the first four months of the year, while expenditures increased 40% to $130.6 billion. The primary balance, which excludes interest payments, posted a $1.78 billion deficit in April, compared with a $1.88 billion surplus in the same month last year. Non-interest expenditures rose 45.4% year-on-year to $27.9 billion in April, while interest expenditures fell 1.2% to $5.6 billion. Tax revenues rose 28.5% year-on-year to $22.2 billion in April. In the January-April period, tax revenues increased 55.6% year-on-year to $95.9 billion. Interest expenditures jumped 56.5% annually to $24.8 billion in the first four months of the year, while non-interest expenditures rose 36.6% to $105.8 billion.