ANKARA - Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan said on Wednesday that they launched maximum efforts not to bring additional taxes, adding ''we will both decrease the taxes, and also increase income in the budget.''
Speaking to reporters in the news conference he held to announce the temporary results of the 2003 year budget, Unakitan said that ''whether there is IMF or not, we have an economic policy which the government believes in and which the government implements without giving concessions. This economic policy is based on financial discipline and it targets to achieve 6.5 percent of non-interest surplus. Therefore the reviews of the IMF will continue till the end of 2004.''
Unakitan said that the seventh review of the stand-by agreement would be completed in February. Noting that the public administration reform would significantly contribute to decreasing the costs, Unakitan said that the government did its best not to bring additional taxes and not to increase the prices of some products.
Economic growth was important for everybody, said Unakitan, adding that ''economic recovery is not possible without growth. Production is necessary for growth, investment is necessary for production, and favorable environment is necessary for investment. Growth has to be sustainable.''
(END)
(Öª-AY) 21.01.2004