March 21, 2018•Update: March 21, 2018
By Gokhan Ergocun
ANKARA
There are serious issues associated with cryptocurrencies, including concerns over its use in terrorist financing and money laundering, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek tweeted on Wednesday.
In several posts made on his official Twitter account, Simsek also spoke about Blockchain -- a technology that records and verifies transactions safely based on cryptography and acknowledged its "positive aspects".
About the state of the global economy, he said it was strong and firing on all cylinders, but this was a cyclical recovery, adding: "Short-term outlook remains positive but medium-term prospects are clouded by many factors, including slow productivity growth and aging population."
Key risks to global growth are trade protectionism, global imbalances, excessive risk, pro-cyclical fiscal policy and financial deregulation, he said.
He recommended speeding up structural reforms for inclusive growth, introducing macro-prudential measures to improve resilience, maintaining prudent fiscal policy and enhancing a level-playing field.
"Fix the roof while the sun is still shining," he added.
He touched on taxation of digital businesses and said digitalization was a major threat in many countries in the taxation field.
"An origin-based international tax system no longer makes sense," he said and expressed that digital economy could not be tax-free.
This situation is not sustainable and political pressures for unilateral action are rising, he added.
About the future of work, he said: "The pace of change has never been this fast. There’s a lot of anxiety."
Robots will not cause unemployment anytime soon and artificial intelligence will provide possibilities for better and new jobs, he said.
"Countries must invest in skills, science and technology," he said.
