Evaluation of repeat institution in terms of tax law: Problems and suggestions for solutions

The legislator applies various sanctions to ensure that people comply with the rules of law in order to maintain social order. The main purpose of these sanctions is to rehabilitate individuals who commit crimes and to deter people from committing crimes. One of the criminal law practices introduced for this purpose, the idea that a person who is not corrected for the first crime with the institution of recidivism will be corrected when a heavier sanction is applied, makes the institution of recidivism gain importance in practice. This also applies to tax law. In case the tax offender repeats the misdemeanor, the penalty is increased to a certain extent and in case of repeated tax crimes, the decision is made according to the general provisions of the Turkish Penal Code. In this study, the institution of recurrence, which is quite different from each other in terms of Turkish Criminal Law and Tax Criminal Law, is examined. In terms of the regulations in The Turkish Law No. 5237, the Misdemeanor Law No. 5236, the Tax Procedure Law No. 213, legal conditions and results of the institution of recidivism in tax offences and tax misdemeanors, the problems which are encountered in the application of the institution of recidivism and the discussions in the doctrine were investigated by taking the judicial decisions into consideration.