Tax expenditure practices in the 19th century Ottoman public finance system

This thesis examines how the tax expenditure, which is consisted of tax exemption, tax reduction, tax refund, tax deferral, and rate relief, was used in the 19th century Ottoman State public finance system as a tax policy tool. It begins by sketching the definition and arguments against and in favor of tax expenditure, focusing first on the importance, effects, and views concerning this concept. The next part charts the general outlook of the Ottoman State Public Finance system by discussing the Post-Tanzimat public finance case, changes in perception within the Ottoman fiscal mind, developments in fiscal administration, and developments in taxation. The thesis goes on to investigate the reasons behind the tax expenditure practices by using the archives, which compiled from the Ottoman Archives and the National Archives, as well as British newspaper articles, under the headings of economic, fiscal, social, political, and religious issues, and then on practices in the context of county experiences s, which are Britain, Russia, Germany, and France. It, in the end, makes a general assessment regarding all these explanations. In retrospect of the practices of the tax expenditure, these practices have been used in such a deep and wide manner as a fiscal policy tool for different purposes since the establishment of the Ottoman State. There were essential debates on the purpose and amount of tax expenditure in the archives, particularly during the post-Tanzimat Era. These debates were at the center of the reform movements introduced in this period. Within the context of these debates, tax expenditure practices have become a prominent tax policy tool in providing an equitable distribution of the tax burden, in the establishment of social justice, and in suppressing adverse social issues in Ottoman society.