Minister Şimşek: Share of Indirect Taxes Decreased to 62 Percent

Budget Discipline and Tax Justice Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek emphasized the importance of justice and efficiency in income policies during a speech at an event held as part of the 37th Tax Week.
Şimşek stated that despite fiscal burdens such as earthquake-related expenditures and early retirement regulations, budget discipline has not been compromised, successfully bringing the budget deficit-to-GDP ratio below 3 percent.
Addressing changes in the tax structure, Şimşek noted that contrary to general public perception, tax expenditures were reduced during the program period, and ineffective items were reviewed.
The Minister announced that the share of indirect taxes in total tax revenues, which had been high for a long time, was reduced from 66 percent to 62 percent.
MTP Targets and Tax Expenditures Minister Şimşek revealed that the share of tax expenditures in national income, which stood at 6.5 percent in 2023, fell to 5.1 percent last year.
Noting that they aim to reduce this rate to 4.1 percent or lower by the end of the Medium-Term Program (MTP) period, Şimşek expressed that while the MTP targets are ambitious, they expect to demonstrate an even stronger performance.
Combating the Informal Economy and Digitalization Stating that concrete results have been achieved in the fight against the informal economy, Şimşek announced that 473,000 taxpayers filed declarations for the first time in 2025, and the number of income taxpayers has exceeded 6.2 million.
Highlighting the importance of digitalization in audit and collection processes, Şimşek added that artificial intelligence and algorithms will be used more effectively to increase efficiency.