Muhasebe Belgeleri̇ne Dayali Vergi̇ Deneti̇mi̇ni̇n Türki̇ye’deki̇ Geli̇şi̇mi̇ ( 1923-1980)

The purpose of this study is to examine the influences of tax laws enacted between the years of 1923 and 1980 on accounting tax audit. In line with this purpose, the laws implemented in the first and second period (1923-1949 and 1950-1980) of the Republic were analysed chronologically and the impacts of the laws on accounting process and tax audit were evaluated. The first period of the Republic (1923-1949) was held in two parts, which are the years between 1923-1939 and 1940-1949. In the first years of the Republic (1923-1949), it was determined that the laws, which influenced accounting in terms of content and style, entered into force. These laws enabled the government to levy tax over financial statements and incomes. However, the fact that each effectuated tax law determined its own accounting book in that period and tax was imposed on taxpayers based on accounting records and the principle of statement caused audit problems. The problem was solved as tax audit organizations were formed in addition to the Board of Inspectors of the Ministry of Finance. In the years between 1940 and 1949, the tax laws that were put into force to reduce the economic and financial effects of World War II came to prominence. The taxes of that period were widely criticized since they led to economic disparity in the public. Significant amendments were made to tax laws through the tax reform applied and the philosophy of “taxation based on income” was adopted to reduce the criticisms. In order to carry out the tax reform successfully, the tax audit organization was restructured. The second period of the Republic (1950-1980) was examined in three parts, which are the years between 1950-1960, 1960-1970 and 1970-1980. In this period, the need to scrutinize the taxpayers emerged due to the amendments to the tax policies. Thus, it was required to scrutinize the accounting records and documents based on the tax statement and carry out tax audit on a large scale that would enable comparison of the existing tax base with the one specified in the tax basement according to the effective legislation. A tax audit structure was created to fulfil that need and it was restructured in accordance with the requirements of that period.