Parliament passes new measures to fight economic crisis

A new package of measures to cushion the impact of the global economic crisis was approved by Parliament yesterday. Aimed at easing the burden on companies and minimizing economic losses due to the crisis, the package introduces incentives for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and tax cuts, especially in the Internet sector. Under the package, special payments, also known as short-time benefits, providing support from the unemployment fund for temporarily laid-off workers was increased to six months from three. Likewise, the amount of these benefits was raised 50 percent. With the package, the government expects to cut corporate taxes to encourage new investments and accelerate financial development, boost employment and minimize the development gap between Turkey's regions. The Cabinet will have the authority to cut the corporate tax by 5 percent for the next five years. In related news, Deputy Prime Minister Nazim Ekren said yesterday that a proposal to give one-time stimulus checks of TL 200-500 to working people to revive the domestic markets was being looked at, calling it a key measure to boost domestic demand at a time of crisis. Ekren also said that the government would soon announce measures to support the textile, tourism, automotive, maritime, iron and steel, and construction sectors.