MÜSİAD President Abdurrahman Kaan issued a written statement regarding the Economic Reform Package announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

President Kaan's statement is as follows:

In 2020, when developing countries exhibited one of the worst growth performances in their history, the Turkish economy grew by 1.8 percent. The 5.9 percentage point growth recorded in the last quarter of the year also served as a significant source of motivation for 2021.

The impact of the support and incentives offered to the markets by the Economic Stability Shield package announced in March of last year was clearly felt in these developments. Indeed, throughout 2020, the support provided by the economic administration to those affected by the pandemic reached 10 percent of our national income, and the total amount of cash support provided alone exceeded 45 billion TL.

Thus, the Economic Stability Shield provided a lifeline to the Turkish economy, which had been severely shaken by the shock caused by Covid-19. In this context, President Mr. The Reform Package announced today by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a very welcome development for the business community, indicating that the trajectory of economic activity in 2021 will remain positive.

As MÜSİAD, we met with our Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mr. Lütfi Elvan, and our Minister of Justice, Mr. Abdulhamit Gül, last December and presented them with a 100-point proposal addressing a wide range of issues, including working life, taxes and payments, incentives and support, financing, and the legal environment.

With this Reform Package, which we see as a very positive approach to many demands of the business world, we believe that the V-shaped recovery observed in the markets since the third quarter of last year will spread to many more sectors.

In particular, the Income Tax exemption granted to low-income tradespeople and the removal of the declaration requirement will significantly increase the business volume of our SMEs, the driving force of our economy. With the announced support, the resilience of the economy will increase in public finances, combating inflation, the financial sector, and combating the current account deficit.

Ensuring spending discipline, reducing public waste, restructuring the budget, and increasing cash management efficiency will increase the contribution of public spending and investments to economic growth.

Thanks to the planned enactment of the Sectoral Public Procurement Law, the Public-Private Sector Partnership Law, the Wholesale Market Law, the Participation Finance Law, and regulatory and supervisory structures such as the Health Industry Presidency, the Software and Hardware Industry Presidency, the Central Monitoring Committee, the Price Stability Committee, and the Risk Center, many areas, from investments to finance, technology and production to price stability, will be improved.

Furthermore, we believe that the planned establishment of the Presidential Economic Coordination Board and the Financial Stability Committee of the Ministry of Treasury and Finance will not only increase public oversight and supervision but also make coordination and consultation mechanisms with non-public institutions more efficient.

This Reform Package, which we believe will inject fresh resources into the Turkish economy, will see rapid improvement in many parameters, from domestic demand to investment spending. Thus, the recovery in economic activity, which has been relatively subdued by recent monetary tightening measures, will accelerate in the second quarter of the year, and the Turkish economy will continue on a positive growth path.