Efficiency of Tax Audit in Turkey and Suggestions for Increasing Efficiency

Abstract

In all economies, tax is recognised as the most fundamental public financing instrument. In order to maintain their existence, states collect taxes from individuals and provide public services to them with the taxes they collect. Although taxation by the state is an interference with the right to property, interference with the right to property is recognised by both domestic and international law in cases of public interest in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution regulating the right to property. Therefore, the legal basis and limit of this intervention to the right to property through taxation is the public interest.

In the Turkish tax system, individuals calculate the tax to be paid by themselves and notify the tax administration by themselves. Although this method eases the workload of the tax administration, it leads to an increase in tax losses and evasion in economies where tax auditing is not fully established. (Excess) tax losses and evasion will lead to various consequences such as tax injustice / inequality and deterioration of fairness in income distribution in the economy. The fact that tax rates are high and tax penalties are not sanctioned will accustom taxpayers not to pay taxes but not to pay taxes.  In this study, information on tax audit and tax audit efficiency in Turkey will be given and the question ‘How should we increase the efficiency of tax audit in Turkey?’ will be tried to be answered.