Stitching the economy

by Peter Grimsditch July 31, 2009

written by Peter Grimsditch July 31, 2009

Last month Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced economic stimulus measures designed to put the nation back to work and the economy on the path to recovery. Tax cuts, exemption from social security payments, relocation expenses and subsidies for intern on-the-job training were part of what Erdogan described as turning a “crisis into an opportunity.” On paper, the plan looks sound. For investment purposes the country has been carved into four zones, from the least developed east to the most developed north-west. As an incentive for new investors to set up shop in eastern Turkey, start-up businesses will see corporate tax rates cut from 20 percent to 2 percent, social security contributions exempted for seven years, and a subsidy of 5 percentage points on the interest rate for Turkish lira loans for business start-ups, to a maximum of TL500,000 ($325,000). Smaller versions of the same formula will apply to

Peter Grimsditch

Journalist, editor, and author Peter Grimsditch’s career began at his college's student publication and led him to become the founding editor of Britain’s Daily Star. He later worked in New York and Turkey as as a correspondent, eventually becoming the No. 2 editor at Lebanon’s Daily Star before inheriting the editorship.

Stitching the economy

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