7. Effect of COVID-19 Pandemic on Tax Perception: An Empirical Study

Tax is a financial burden that individuals have to bear as a result of an administrative act carried out by the tax administration. Although 24.1% of taxpayers consider tax as a sacred duty Çoban et al. (Sezgin Vergi Mükelleflerinin Davranışları Üzerine Ampirik Bir İnceleme: Denizli Örneği 777–792, 2004), the European Human Rights Committee (ECHR) states that “…Any law involving some form of tax liability involves deprivation from the relevant assets…”. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) declared that it accepts the case law of the ECHR by saying “taxation as an intervention to the guaranteed rights” in Article 1 of Protocol 1 Yaltı (Vergi Yükümlüsünün Hakları, 2006). Regardless of how we define the tax, for an ideal tax system, tax compliance of the taxpayer should be ensured at the highest possible level. One of the most important factors affecting tax compliance is tax perception. In this study, we will try to answer these questions and analyse how various demographic differences affect tax perception during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the study, the data of the online survey prepared just for this study will be used and the differences will be determined by this way. It will be important to reveal the changes made by various demographic variables in the perception of tax during the COVID-19 process, in order to shed light on the future steps that the tax administration and the legislator can take regarding taxes.