Author
DUMLU, Emrullah
Type
Book
Language
ara,eng,tur
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Royal Danish Library
Library Asset ID
ISSN: 2757-6949, EISSN: 2757-6949, DOI: 10.14395/hid.1333623
Record ID
cdi_doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_f6b46b547dc94c2f98cf4d2206ff6d49
Library Location
EBSCOhost Academic Search Complete
Notes
Maintaining the balance of public income and expenditure has an important role in the power and continuity of states. Therefore, every state needs a well-functioning tax system to cover public expenditures. Like every state, the Ottoman Empire has its own tax system. The Ottoman tax system in the pre-Tanzimat period is considered in two basic parts. Tekalif-i şer'iyye (Şer'i taxes) and Tekalif-i Örfiyye (customary taxes). Sharia taxes, the provisions of which are examined in detail in fiqh books, are zakat, tithe, haraç and jizya. Customary taxes, on the other hand, are taxes imposed by the order of the head of state based on need. This study was written in order to find answers to the questions of whether zakat, which is in the category of Sharia taxes, is included in the tax system adopted by the Ottoman Empire with its unique rules, and therefore whether it takes as a reference the fiqh knowledge inherited by the Ottoman Empire in the taxes collected from assets subject to zakat. The answer to this question will also reveal to what extent theory and practice overlap in the Ottoman context. The subject has been examined under two main headings. In the first title, general information about the tax system of the Ottoman Empire is given. In the second title, the tax collected by the Ottoman Empire from assets subject to zakat and the zakat provisions to which the same assets are subject are presented and the issues of whether the tax collected overlaps with the zakat law are examined. As far as we can determine, the Ottoman Empire continued the ancient practice of giving the zakat of the money from inward properties by the taxpayers, and did not directly collect zakat/tax from this area. It took into account the previous practice of collecting different zakat/taxes according to the religious affiliation and nationality of the merchant on commercial goods that were transferred to the category of apparent goods when they were removed from the settlement and passed through internal and external customs points, but applied a different tariff by changing the inherited rates in the process. He introduced a tax application different from the zakat provisions on animals by charging a certain amount of money per animal. In addition, by keeping the nisab rate high for certain professional groups, he implemented some special practices that were not possible for zakat but were possible for taxes. It implemented a tax policy on agricultural products according to the land regime it adopted. Unlike previous states, it converted the tithe and haraj lands it acquired into miri land, transferred the ownership of the land to the state, and transferred the operating rights to the farmers. Thus, the state developed a land regime in which farmers had the right to use land and gained the opportunity to dispose of it freely. Based on this understanding, it applied a flexible tax tariff on crops, within the framework of its own rules, at rates ranging from 10% to 50%, depending on the originality of the land, unlike the Sharia tax rate. Transferring the right of use of the land he owns to the farmers is a rental transaction, and the tax he receives in return for this transaction is considered as a rental fee. In the pre-Tanzimat period, mines were affected according to the type of land where the mine was mined. Since almost all of the lands within it are miri lands, naturally the majority of the mines are also included in these lands. The state operated these mines directly on behalf of the treasury, recorded them as income, and did not transfer them to the fief owners. He personally regulated the inspection and operation procedures of the mines with the laws he issued. In the post-Tanzimat period, he made fundamental regulations in the field of mining law with four different regulations. With its current structure, the Ottoman tax system appears to be a mixed tax system based on the practices of the old Turkish states, the previous Islamic states, and the old administrations in the places it conquered, and whose customary character predominates, which it developed by adding a number of procedures and principles. In the prosperity and stability of states, maintaining public revenues and expenditures plays an important role. For this reason, all states need a well-functioning taxation system to meet the public expenditures. As in all states, the Ottoman State had its own taxation system. Ottoman taxation system was classified under two main sections during the period before Tanzimat; Tekalif-i shar'iyya (religious taxes) and tekalif-i orfiyye (extraordinary taxes). The religious taxes, whose provisions are analyzed comprehensively in fiḳh books, are zakāt, tithe (ashar), kharaj and jizya. The extraordinary taxes, however, are legislated with the order of the sovereign due to the needs. This study tries to find answers to the questions whether zakāt, as a religious tax with its own provisions, was a part of the Ottoman taxation system, and therefore whether Ottomans based on the fiḳh accumulation it inherited for the taxes they collected from the goods liable to zakāt. The answer to this question will also reveal to what extent theory and practice coincide for the Ottomans. The subject was analyzed under two headings. In the first one, general information about Ottoman taxation system is provided. In the second heading, by presenting the taxes Ottomans collect from the goods liable to zakāt and the zakāt provisions these goods are liable to, it is examined whether these collected taxes coincide with zakāt laws. As far as we are concerned, the Ottoman State continued the old tradition that the zakāt for the value of the hidden goods be paid by the taxpayers, and they did not collect taxes for this directly. They also took into consideration the past practice that when the goods transported from a province through an internal or external customs become evident goods, they collected different zakāt/tax amounts depending on the religion or nationality of the merchant. However, over time they implemented different rates by changing the inherited rates. To illustrate, for animal taxes, they applied a different taxation than zakāt provisions by collecting a certain amount of money for each animal. Besides, by taking the quorum higher for certain occupations, they practiced several specific applications that are not possible for zakāt provisions but possible for taxes. They implemented a taxation policy depending on the land regime for the agricultural products. Differently from the older states, by turning the tithe and kharaj lands it included into demesne, they made it the property of the state, and the right of usage was given to the farmers. In this way, they developed a land regime in which the bare owner is the state, and the tenure was farmers'. Therefore, they had the chance to manage these lands easily. Thanks to this opportunity, as part of the rules they organized, differently from the religious tax rate, they implemented a flexible tax rate ranging from 10% to 50% depending on the type of the land. Assigning the tenure of the land, whose owner is the state, was considered renting and the tax collected in return was rental cost. In the period before Tanzimat, for the mines, the state acted according to the land type from which the mine is extracted. Since almost all of the land it was owned, the vast majority of the mines were naturally among such lands. The state operated these mines it owned through force account by directly recording them as revenues for the state treasury, but did not assign them to the mesne lords. Thanks to the code of laws, the state itself organized the inspection and operating methods of these mines. In the post-Tanzimat era, thanks to the four different codes of practices, the state made thorough regulations in the field of mining law. With its present form, the Ottoman taxation system appears to be an integrated taxation system which depends on the old Turkic states, early Islamic states and the former applications in the lands it conquered. Ottomans also added certain methods and principles to this taxation system and turned it into an integrated taxation system whose extraordinary characteristics are more prevalent.
Görüntüle
Hitit İlahiyat Dergisi, 2023-12, Vol.22 (2), p.834-854
