"Turkey's Fuel Tax Hike Boosts Strained Budget"

Turkey has increased the tax on petrol to help fund a significant increase to its 2023 budget, which has been stretched due to increased spending after earthquakes and the presidential election. The budget deficit has risen to 263.6 billion lira in the first five months of the year, and the additional fuel tax aims to address this. However, the tax increase could also contribute to inflation, which had previously declined. The tax adjustments are expected to raise pump prices by over 20%. Turkey has been implementing various tax increases to strengthen its government coffers, as the country's currency has significantly depreciated, leading to higher import prices.