Analysis of legal security principles in taxation within the framework of judicial decisions

The principle of legal security denotes constitutional security for taxpayers and the state regarding judicial decisions on laws, tax procedures and real events. The principle of legal security has three elements: certainty, non-retroactivity and prohibition of analogy. The study provides an analysis of the decisions of the Constitutional Court, as well as, the General Assembly of the Unification of Conflicting Judgements, the General Assembly of Tax Courts, and the Third, Fourth, Seventh and Ninth Divisions of the Council of State regarding the principle of legal security in taxation to reify the principle due to the frequent citation of the principle and its elements in judicial decisions although the principle or its elements are not regulated in the constitution. A content analysis of the relevant judicial decisions was performed to support the legal analysis. In addition, the Constitutional Court Rapporteurs and the Council of State Review Judges were interviewed, and a content analysis was also conducted on the interview data. Although the literature contains theoretical studies and legal analyses on legal security principles or its elements in taxation, none incorporates content analysis and interview work. The study aimed to determine important issues and problems concerning the principle of legal security and to propose solutions by conducting legal analysis, content analysis and interviews in conjunction with a theoretical review, which will provide a significant contribution to the literature.