Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek drew attention with the "rosy picture" he drew in his 2027 budget presentation at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Planning and Budget Commission, ignoring the deepening poverty and the devastating impact of the economic crisis on citizens. In a speech that was far from the reality of the citizens who pay the price for the government's economic policies every day in the market and markets, Şimşek attributed the deviations in the Medium Term Program (MTP) targets to external factors.
'IF THE WAR HAS NOT BEEN THERE, INFLATION WOULD HAVE FALLED' DEFENSE
Admitting that growth will be 3.3 percent this year, 0.5 points below the MTP target, Şimşek explained the slowdown in the economy and inflation with global excuses. Şimşek defended the program they implemented by saying, "The maneuvering area we created in monetary and fiscal policy allowed us to take effective measures against global shocks in a short time." Attributing the failure to prevent inflation to the energy supply shock, the Minister relied on the Central Bank's assessment and claimed, "If geopolitical shocks had not occurred, inflation would have been 7 points lower." However, it was noteworthy that inflation was not below 7 percent in Russia, Israel and the USA during the war.
THE BITTER PRESCRIPTION WILL CONTINUE
Şimşek signaled that the bitter recipe will continue by saying, "We foresee that the growth composition will be compatible with the disinflation process, thanks to our policies that increase production capacity and competitiveness and prioritize investment and exports."
HE DEFENDED THE CAPITAL TAX SHIELD WITH 'MINIMUM WAGE'
One of the most controversial parts of the budget presentation was tax injustice. While the heavy burden of indirect taxes (VAT, SCT) on the citizens continues, Şimşek said, "We predict that the share of indirect taxes will decrease to 59.4 percent in 2026. If it were not for the Eşel mobile application, this rate would be 60.5 percent." Defending the huge hole in the budget due to "tax expenditures", which include the huge exemptions granted to the capital sector, Şimşek stated the following, citing the exception benefited by millions of employees to conceal this situation:
"Tax expenditure is not a tax amnesty or debt cancellation. Tax expenditure consists of tax exemptions, exceptions and reductions implemented by our great Parliament through legal regulations. The largest tax expenditure is the minimum wage exemption that all our employees benefit from. Approximately 1.5 trillion lira that will not be taken within the scope of this exception constitutes approximately one third of the tax expenditures of 2027."
PAYMENT OF 130 BILLION LIRAS TO BANKING FUNDS
Another noteworthy data in the presentation was the investment funds that went bankrupt and were liquidated due to manipulation. Arguing that no resources were used from the public budget, Şimşek defended the balance sheet of the process with the words "Fund assets, resources in recovery accounts and amounts in optional return accounts are used in the payments made to fund shareholders, and resources from the public budget will not be used" and added: "To date, 130.2 billion liras have been paid to 614 thousand 874 accounts, 420 thousand 31 unique people in 108 funds and 179 thousand 449 people have made net investments." "He received the full amount."
THE CLAIM 'WE CREATED PENSIONERS' WHILE THE HUNGER LIMIT EXCEEDS 38 THOUSAND PEOPLE
In an environment where the hunger limit exceeded 38 thousand liras and the minimum wage had melted months ago, the promises made by Şimşek, stating that they had a "non-interest surplus" in the budget, were reflected in the Parliament minutes as words disconnected from the reality of the street. In addition, while the share of interest expenses in total budget expenditures in 2025 was expressed as 14.04 percent, according to the data of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance, approximately 16.35% (1,988 trillion TL) of the central government budget expenditure of 12 trillion 162.7 billion TL in the January-August 2026 period consisted of interest expenditures. According to the 2026 Central Government Budget Law, the initial interest appropriation was determined as 2 trillion 742 billion TL.
Şimşek finished his presentation with these assertive words:
"We used the financial space we obtained for Ezel Mobil. We created space in the 2027 budget to support the purchasing power of our retirees... We aim to increase the purchasing power of our farmers, tradesmen, workers, minimum wage earners, civil servants and retirees, in short, all our citizens, and to ensure that all segments of society receive a fair share of the increase in welfare."
