Abstract:

While the protection of personal data has recently become an actual issue in Turkey, it is actually an issue that has been regulated under the procedural law applicable to the tax law. The statutory regulations which are specific to the tax law stipulate the principle that the taxpayer data acquired by the tax administration for taxation purposes must be protected. In this paper, we will try to explicate the provisions in the tax legislation that forbid the disclosure and use of the commercial information of the taxpayers. First of all, a brief describe how the legal basis on the protection of personal data has developed historically and just after that extensive statements regarding the protection of commercial data of taxpayers will be stated from the point of tax law. In final part, certain drawbacks of the relevant regulations and generally positive outcomes will be considered and shared about the issue.

Keywords: