Illegal tax evasion and its punishment: an overview of the offense
Tax evasion is a serious crime subject to criminal sanctions in the legal systems of many countries. Tax evasion can be accomplished by providing false information or incomplete declarations in tax returns, evading tax debts or failing to fulfill tax obligations in other ways. It''the crime negatively affects the economy of a country by damaging the functioning of the tax system and is a crime that should be prevented by criminal sanctions. To effectively combat tax evasion, it is important to strengthen the tax system and control mechanisms, as well as to raise public awareness.
What is tax evasion? Tax evasion is the avoidance or non-declaration of tax payments in violation of the Tax Law. It is an act committed by people who fail to fulfill their tax obligations or provide misleading information on their tax returns. Tax evasion harms the tax system and''public expenditure according to its financial power. By failing to fulfill the tax duties established by the laws, a violation of a fiscal nature is committed that exceeds its economic power and is related to public order. Therefore, those who commit such acts are subjected to the punishment of restraint. It is not necessary to cause damage to the tax, i.e., loss of tax, in order to impose a punishment that restricts liberty. Tax evasion is also a social crime that is punishable by restraint of liberty. Apart from the Criminal Law, offenses and punishments can also be established in other laws. However, tax evasion is also a crime but is regulated''Tax Procedural Law. However, according to Article 5 of the Turkish Penal Code (TPC), the general provisions stipulated in the TPC also apply to offenses and punishments in other laws. The Court of First Instance is the court responsible for hearing cases related to this offense.
You may be interested in: What are economic crimes in criminal law? What are the acts and penalties that constitute the crime of tax evasion? The crime of tax evasion is governed by Article 359 of the Code of Tax Procedure, titled "Contraband Crimes and Penalties". The acts specified in this article constitute the substance of the offense. The punishment for each act is also specified in''law.
Paragraph (a) of section 359 of the Code of Tax Procedure relates to books kept or made under the Internal Revenue Laws that must be kept and filed; the first paragraph of that paragraph addresses three different offenses. According to this;
Fraud in books and records. This is the act of recording a transaction, done correctly, in the ledger required to be kept under the Tax Laws in a different way than it actually is.
Opening an account in the names of people who are not real or have nothing to do with the recorded transactions. To reduce the tax base this is a common offense of evasion' To commit an offense, the tax base must be reduced by notarizing it for that year and recording it in other illegal books without recording it in the books to be kept.
The second part of the same paragraph specifies the three offenses that constitute the offense. According to this;
Hiding notebooks, records and documents. In the absence of keeping and recording of books, records and documents, this constitutes the crime of concealing books and documents by failing to produce them to the persons authorized for tax audit at the time of audit. While it is mandatory to keep books and records that are not kept and documents that are not regulated, it is not an offense.
Falsification of books, records and documents. Forgery of official documents that taxpayers are required by law to make or maintain is the subject of this offense. The offense''forgery is different from the crime of destruction. Here, the tangible assets of documents are protected. However, the content of these documents can be altered contrary to procedures to correct law and truth.
The editing or use of a misleading document in terms of its content. A misleading content document is a document that is based on a real situation but reflects that situation in a wrong way in terms of nature or amount. These documents are invoices with different top and bottom copies and invoices with incomplete sales. For example, if an invoice is issued for 200 lira despite the sale of goods worth 700 lira, this document is misleading in terms of content. While''The crime of issuing fraudulent documents can only be committed by a taxpayer, the crime of using fraudulent documents is also a crime that can be committed by any person who is not a taxpayer.
The crime of issuing fraudulent documents is committed during the preparation of documents, and the crime of using a document is committed when a document is used. The punishment for the above crimes, namely those specified in Article 359/a of the Code of Tax Procedure, is specified as imprisonment from eighteen months to five years.
In paragraph 'b' of Article 359 of the Code of Tax Procedure, two acts are provided for the crime of tax evasion. According to''this;
Destroying books, records, and documents required to be kept, made, preserved, and filed under the Tax Laws, or substituting other sheets or omitting any sheets in lieu of destroying pages of a book. The books and documents required to be kept and filed are the subject of the offense. The most important point not to be overlooked here is that while it is mandatory to keep books and records that are not kept and documents that are not regulated, they do not constitute the subject matter of this offense.
Creating or using original or copies of documents as wholly or partially forged. The statute defines a forged document as 'a document,''drawn up as if there were no real transaction or situation'. If a forged document is drawn up to prove the commission of a crime, treatment or situation, this constitutes the crime of issuing forged documents. In contrast, using such a document by writing it into a record constitutes the offense of using a forged document. The punishment for these two offenses regulated in Article 359/b of the Code of Tax Procedure is specified as imprisonment from three to eight years.
In paragraph 'c' of Article 359 of the Code of Tax Procedure, the act of printing or knowingly using documents that can only be printed by persons who have an agreement with the Ministry of Finance is regulated,
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