The Turkish government has prepared a comprehensive action plan on the economy this year and is preparing to share the measures taken to further increase investment, exports and employment, including the main points of the struggle with inflation, with the public in a few days. Speaking at the Introductory Meeting of the Coordination Board for the Improvement of Investment Environment (YOİKK) 2017-2018 Reform in the Presidential Palace Complex yesterday, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said the government has approved a new strategic investment incentive of TL 128 billion ($31.8 billion), adding that they will share this publicly in the coming days.
Prime Minister Yıldırım also informed that there is a package of 67 items that is still under preparation and we will present it to the Assembly soon.
"We will also share the measures taken by the banks to ease the markets and facilitate access to credit," he noted.
"We are going to eliminate what has been spoken for 2018 and pave the way for you. We will continue to do business and create employment," Yıldırım added.
Yıldırım stated that they have brought value-added tax (VAT) exemption for purchasing machinery equipment for manufacturing industry and research and development (R&D) and innovation design activities, adding that this opportunity will be made possible for everyone in the procurement of devices to be used in this type of production and in the technology development, regardless of the incentives.
Yıldırım stressed that if the bureaucracy is simplified and made operational in terms of both legislation and practice, the country and the nation will profit from it, underlining that they will also change the mindset about documents.
"If you have business with the state, you will no longer prepare the same documents over and over again for each institution. It is a very important thing, a revolution," Yıldırım said, noting that as of today, the rate of citizens doing business with the state via e-government has increased to 57 percent. "But until the end of this year, all kinds of transaction between the citizens and the state will be made online via e-government. You can carry out all kinds of transactions without facing the bureaucracy or the bureaucrat. So, the bureaucracy is the 'button,' and you will press the button and do your job," Prime Minister Yıldırım noted.
Yıldırım said those who do not have to postpone bankruptcy started to abuse this in order to escape from their debts and obligations and that there were many victims, highlighting that they abolished this practice. Suggesting that they have developed a mechanism for rescue of the company instead of postponing bankruptcy, Yıldırım said they want the company to have a status that provides protection of the rights of the creditors based on maintaining commercial life instead of liquidation.
Yıldırım emphasized that they aim to prevent malicious intents and thoughts with this practice.
"Before the company goes bankrupt, we allow the company to enter into the rescue agreement as soon as the distress occurs. If the company is not rescued, we aim to protect the economic value of the goods by selling them as a whole," he said.
Yıldırım said the regulations that have been realized will seriously ease the construction sector, noting that the number of separate operations for building permission will be reduced from 18 down to six. Stressing that a citizen who delivers documents to the municipality for a construction permit will no longer have to keep track of the documents that interest other institutions, Yıldırım said they are now realizing a system called "receiving service from a window or a single door," adding that the municipality will make these inquiries in electronic form and complete the transaction.
Prime Minister Yıldırım said there will be a single signing on the construction license form and all other processes will be conducted in an electronic environment.
"At the point of the information society, Turkey has already caught up with the European Union average. More than 60 percent of our population now become internet literates. This is a big improvement," Yıldırım said, emphasizing that telecommunication companies have established the necessary infrastructure and set up stations in accordance with the developing technology and the expanding number of users.
Also taking the stage at the introductory meeting of the YOİKK, Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdağ gave information about the projects carried out in this regard.
Pointing out that there are international indices that evaluate countries in terms of competition and investment environment, Akdağ said if the ease of doing business is improved both in terms of the environment in our country and these indices, it will pave the way for investments in Turkey.
Akdağ said Turkey ranks 60th in the ease of doing business index. "We should put Turkey in the top 20. We have set such a goal for the next 2 years. Our private sector has exhibited a working list of more than 500 hours, bringing it in front of the YOİKK working secretariat. We held 17 one-to-one, bilateral and tripartite meetings with the ministers. We spent over 100 hours on this level," Akdağ continued.
Recalling that an action plan was created in the light of all these studies and that a 102-point plan was prepared within this scope, Akdağ said that company establishment was facilitated, that a new rescue agreement system was issued away from the logic of the Bankruptcy and Enforcement Law, that steps were taken to encourage the arbitration, that a new page was turned with the e-municipal system, that new provisions were issued for facilitating infrastructure excavation permits and foreign trade, that serious reforms were made for access to financing, and that new steps were taken regarding the merging of tax and Social Security Institution (SGK) declarations and VAT exemption for investment machines. ISTANBUL / DAILY SABAH WITH AA
