Taxation Not Coinciding with Its Purpose: Additional Motor Vehicle Tax Imposed After the Earthquakes of February 6, 2023

While the Constitution obliges everyone to pay taxes in proportion to their financial power to meet public expenses, it has also determined the fair and balanced distribution of the tax burden as the social objective of fiscal policy. Considering the principle of the Constitution that the tax can only be imposed, amended and abolished by law, it is understood that the primary addressee of the said provisions is the Legislator who legally embodies the tax. Accordingly, the Legislature shall not be satisfied with stating its purpose in imposing a tax or in amending or abolishing an existing tax; it shall take measures to ensure that the tax burden of tax savings is conveyed fairly and even equitably to the obligors. Following the Kahramanmaraş -based earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023, additional motor vehicle tax was released through Law No. 7456 to provide a source of needed financing. Although the law, even in its name, clearly reveals the purpose of the tax, its regulation on the determination of the taxpayers has led to results that do not coincide with the said purpose. In the study, the document review technique was preferred. The argument is tried to be proved by the evaluations made within the framework of the purpose of the tax and the fair and equitable distribution of the tax burden.