The element of intent in the offence of tax evasions

Particular punishments that restrict freedom have stipulated for offences of tax evasion in Article 359 of the Turkish Tax Procedure Law no. 213. However, in the same article, the intend element which is required for a crime occurrence is not included. The 5th Article titled "Relationship with Specialized Statutes" of the Turkish Penal Code, no.5237 is defined as "The general provisions of this Statute shall apply both to special criminal statutes and other statutes which include criminal penalties" According to the Turkish Penal Code , the existence of a criminal offence depends upon the presence of intent. The lack of regulations over the intent element in the Turkish Tax Procedure Law causes arguments for years that offenses of tax evasion might occur without "intend". The Communiqué No: 306 issued on the subject stipulates that the "intent" should be sought only for the acts of using forged documents. The regulation, which resulted in the non-search for intent in other crimes in Article 359 of the Turkish Tax Procedure Law, was in contradiction with the general provisions of the Turkish Penal Code. In addition, those authorized for tax inspection are having trouble to determine the "intent" element, since tax inspections are carried out many years after the event, since the documents and data that will be the subject of intentional elements can be destroyed by the taxpayers. As a rusult, it is seen that the taxpayers who are sued for public suits based on the reports written before the intention, which is a subjective element, have been fully exposed, have been acquitted by the judicial authorities or that the convictions have been violated by the upper courts. In the thesis, "the intent" which is the moral element of crime according to the Turkish Penal Code is explained and in the historical process, when the phrase "intent" is included in the the Turkish Tax Procedure Law, when it is removed from the text of the law and whether the phrase "intent" should be included in the text of the law is discussed. Regarding the determination of intention in offenses of tax evasions, the relation of the Turkish Penal Code with the the Turkish Tax Procedure Law has been revealed. In this context, the objective elements for the determination of "intent", which is a subjective element, have been explained within the framework of the published communiqué and the court decisions given in particular with respect to the acts of forging documents and using forged documents.