Türk Vergi Sistemi Neden ve Ne Kadar Karmaşık Algılanıyor?: Bir Karma Yöntem Araştırması*(Why and How Complex is the Turkish Tax System Perceived?: A Mixed Method Research )

Tax complexity negatively impacts taxpayers' compliance behavior, increasing compliance costs for taxpayers and operational costs for tax administrations, ultimately resulting in revenue losses for the state. Consequently, efforts to simplify the tax system have gained importance. However, to reduce or eliminate tax complexity, it is first necessary to assess the current level of tax complexity. This research aims to identify the factors determining the perception of tax complexity, develop an index to measure tax complexity perception, and measure the perceived complexity level of the Turkish Tax System through this index. In the research, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 participants, including professional accountants, tax office personnel, academics conducting research in the field of public finance, and lawyers serving on issues related to tax law, and an index was developed based on the findings. As a result of the calculation made using this index with the survey data of 507 participants selected from the same professional groups, the average score of all participants’ “overall tax complexity perception” was found to be 0.69 out of 1, and it was determined that the Turkish Tax System is perceived as highly complex. The research provides original and significant contributions to the literature and policymakers on the topic of tax complexity.