Huge revenue due to 25-30 percent rise of alcohol tax

Turkey's Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek pointed out that he expected a government move to raise a special consumption tax on alcohol by 25-30 percent to bring in $556.5 million in extra revenue.

This year's budget had already factored in extra revenue from tax hikes that would raise alcoholic beverage prices by 4 to 12.5 percent, Simsek said.

The government expects to collect 3.76 billion lira in tax revenue from sales of alcohol this year, up nearly 33 percent from last year.

Islam prohibits the consumption of alcohol.