Supporting low and middle-income groups a priority, Government says

Supporting the vulnerable and low and middle-income groups is a priority, Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis has said.

According to a Presidency press release, in statements on the sidelines of a 22 April event organised by the Press and Information Office on the upcoming Turkish elections and asked about rising inflation, the Spokesman said that "it is paramount at this time that we as a state, as a government, provide citizens, consumers, especially the vulnerable, with all the tools to enable them to cope with inflationary trends."

He pointed out that this will not be done through one measure or even through an announcement, but through a series of measures, noting that the 21 April decision of the Council of Ministers is also moving in this direction, through the proposal of the Ministry of Commerce to monitor the prices of specific products, where the consumer will have the opportunity to monitor on a daily basis what the market looks like and what the lowest price of a product is.

According to Letymbiotis, this will help to reduce prices, as has been done in other countries that have used this tool.

He added that in the same direction the Government is examining the reduction of the VAT rate on specific products, adding that these measures will also work together to provide partial relief to households.

He also stressed that among the Government's immediate priorities is the support of vulnerable groups, as well as low and middle-income groups, which have been hit heavily, while the Government is also considering further measures.

Responding to a question, Letymbiotis referred to a decision of the Council of Ministers on 21 April, which is part of the Government's political priorities regarding the evaluation of various existing programmes and projects, on the basis of which differentiated criteria were approved in relation to residence permits.

He said that a mechanism is now being established to monitor whether an investor maintains the investment on the basis of which he received the permit, as well as his income, for which he has to provide data annually.

If not, he added, the procedure for permit withdrawal is automatically triggered, adding that various other plan provisions in relation to the criteria for granting the residence permit were also approved.

(Source: CNA)