Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, Tax Perception Platform and Finance and Economics Club organized a panel on "Tax Inspection in terms of Taxpayer Rights" on 7 December 2022. The panel started with the opening speeches of Prof. Hakkı Odabaş, Dean of the Faculty of Political Sciences at Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University and Nihat Etik, Deputy Chairman of the Tax Inspection Board, followed by Nazmi Karyağdı, one of the founders of the Tax Perception Platform. In his speech, Prof. Hakkı Odabaş underlined that the concept of taxpayer rights will be discussed in this panel in a way to underline the concept of taxpayer and responsible, which is one of the basic concepts taught in the tax law course. Following Prof. Hakkı Odabaş, Mr. Nihat Etik stated that taxpayer rights, which have become more prominent with the impact of globalization, digitalization and democratization, have developed with the impact of the administration's approach and the contributions of stakeholders in the form of demands and suggestions.
This was followed by the opening speech of Prof. Dr. Tekin Akdemir, Head of the Department of Finance, Faculty of Political Sciences, Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University. Mr. Akdemir stated that this concept has been developing for the last thirty years with the restructuring of tax administrations with a focus on taxpayer rights in the 1990s, and underlined that there are discussions on the need to include the theoretical studies in legal regulations. Following Mr. Akdemir's speech, the first panelist, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Neslihan Karataş Durmuş, a Faculty member of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University Faculty of Law, Department of Financial Law, took the floor and made a presentation titled "Tax Inspection in terms of Taxpayer Rights". Karataş Durmuş shed light on the meaning of the concept of taxpayer rights and why it is important, what regulations have been made in Turkish law regarding taxpayer rights, what are the taxpayer rights that must be complied with during the tax inspection process, what role the rules on proof and evidence have in this process, how to protect taxpayer rights and what can be done in this regard, The Tax Inspection Board stated that while protecting the rights of taxpayers, taxpayers also have various obligations and that tax inspections are carried out to ensure the fulfillment of these obligations, and that the rights of taxpayers in this process are highlighted and developed by the Tax Inspection Board through publications in the form of various brochures.
Speaking as the second panelist, Yüksel Duman, Head of Ankara Tax Office, underlined that tax inspections aim to ensure voluntary compliance as well as penalizing taxpayers. Stating that the Revenue Administration published the Declaration of Taxpayer Rights in 2006, Duman said that this declaration emphasized the need for the administration to be in open and constant communication with taxpayers. Speaking about the regulations and practices in favor of the taxpayer, Duman stated that there are practices such as invitation to declaration, regret and amendment, invitation to explanation and pre-assessment reconciliation in the pre-assessment process, and in the post-assessment process, the right to request a reduction in penalty, post-assessment reconciliation, filing a lawsuit and filing a complaint.
Ahmet Şahin Savcı, President of the Ankara Chamber of Certified Public Accountants, who took the third place in the panel, stated that the declaration principle is valid in our tax system and that tax audits are of great importance in determining whether the taxpayers' declarations are correct or not. In this context, Mr. Savcı stated that the general principles to be followed in tax inspections include the protection of the rights and obligations of the taxpayers and that the rights and obligations of the taxpayers in tax inspections are explained by the Tax Inspection Board and that these rights include the right to request the submission of identification, to learn the reason, subject, period and scope of the inspection, to request the books and documents to be requested in writing, The taxpayer has the right to request additional time to submit books and documents, to request that the examination be conducted at his/her workplace if it is available, to request the draft tax inspection report, to receive information at every stage of the examination, to have a representative present during the examination, and to request to be heard by the Report Evaluation Committees.
The fourth panelist, Mustafa Deryal, Chairman of the Assembly of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce, emphasized that an assessment of taxpayers' rights requires the real sector to present its problems as a party, and that the lack of trust, dialogue and cooperation in the relationship between taxpayers and the administration should be eliminated. Stating that a solution-oriented approach is effective in solving problems, Deryal underlined that disproportionate force should not be applied, fairness should be observed and taxpayers who fulfill their obligations should not be treated unfairly.
The last panelist to take the floor was Çağla Bozkurt, Tax Inspector. Ms. Bozkurt stated that the educational aspect of tax audit is also a priority for the Tax Inspection Board and added that following the Declaration of Taxpayer Rights published by the Revenue Administration in 2006, tax inspection periods were determined in 2010 and the Revenue Administration published the Taxpayer's Rights and Duties Guide in 2014, In 2016, the Tax Inspection Board published the brochure on Taxpayer Rights and Obligations in Tax Inspections; in 2016, the institutions of invitation to explanation, draft tax inspection report, request to be heard in the Report Evaluation Commission and report summary were regulated; in 2017, the Tax Inspection Board published the Circular on Taxpayer Rights in Tax Inspections; and in 2022, the notification of commencement of inspection and e-Viz applications were initiated.
After all panelists made their presentations, session chair Prof. Tekin Akdemir initiated the question and answer phase and some of the participants asked various questions to the panelists. After these questions were answered by the panelists, the panel ended with the closing speech of Prof. İbrahim Aydınlı, Rector of Ankara Yıldırım Beyazıt University, and the presentation of plaques and gifts to the panelists and finally the collective photo shoot.
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