Havva Gümüşkaya
TÜİK published the “State Accounts” report containing indicators on the country’s overall economic situation. The report for 2024 included data on state revenues and expenditures, economic performance, budget status and fiscal policies. The general government deficit amounted to 1 trillion 438 billion 854 million TL in 2024.
The ratio of the general government deficit to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which was 4.5 per cent in 2023 due to earthquake expenditures, fell to 3.2 per cent. The ratio of general government revenues to GDP rose from 31.8 per cent to 33.4 per cent. Total general government expenditure rose to 16.3 trillion TL in 2024, while the share of expenditure in GDP rose to 36.6%.
The share of taxes on production and imports in total tax and social contribution revenues fell from 48.2 per cent in 2023 to 46.7 per cent in 2024. Total tax and social contribution revenues were calculated at 11 trillion 240 billion 452 million TL in 2024. The public sector’s largest revenue source was value-added tax (VAT), amounting to 2.4 trillion TL. The majority of the state’s tax revenues came from taxes on products. Taxes on income and wealth ranked second. The state’s total tax revenues in 2024 increased by 59 per cent compared to 2023.
Taxes collected from individuals and households in 2024 increased by 117 per cent compared to 2023, reaching 1.6 trillion TL from 733.1 billion TL. During the same period, taxes collected on company revenues and profits rose from 892 billion TL to 930.5 billion TL. Taxes collected from individual incomes were approximately double those collected from companies. Over the past two years, the tax burden on income has been shifted from companies to citizens.
EMPLOYEES’ SHARE AT A LOW
The ratio of the total of salaries and wages paid by the state to employees and employers’ social contributions to GDP, which averaged around 8 per cent in previous years, was 9.4 per cent in 2024. Although payments to employees increased compared to 2023, they remained below the overall average. In 2024, the ratio of the state’s payments to employees to GDP in the country remained below the EU average of 10.2 per cent, at 9.4 per cent.
The state’s interest income and expenditure followed a flat trend until 2016, but an upward trend has come to the fore, particularly in recent years. In particular, a strong upward trend was seen in both interest expenditure and interest income from 2021 onwards. In 2024, interest expenditure increased by 69 per cent and interest income by 106.8 per cent. The gap between interest expenses and interest income widened further. Interest income amounted to 650.9 million lira, while interest expenses reached 1.6 trillion lira.
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Vergi gelirleri çalışanlara harcanmadı, published in BirGün newspaper on October 3, 2025.
