Digitalization, brought about by the rapid development in information technologies, has fundamentally transformed the way tax administrations operate. In our country, e-government applications, which have become part of our daily lives, have been followed by applications such as e-tax office, e-invoice, and e-ledger. This digital transformation has begun to be taken to another dimension with e-audit infrastructures, risk analysis engines, decision support systems fed by big data, and artificial intelligence-based applications. This book, titled “Digital Transformation of Taxation: Artificial Intelligence, Innovative Approaches, and E-Audit,” addresses the tax systems’ quest for adaptation in the face of the accelerating dynamics of the digital economy through four sections.
The first of these four studies, which predominantly feature evaluations specific to Turkey, is titled “Artificial Intelligence and Taxation.” It includes suggestions and evaluations on how artificial intelligence can increase efficiency in areas such as taxpayer services, risk and data analysis, and auditing in tax administrations. This section, which covers topics such as the conceptual dimension of artificial intelligence, its history, legal framework, and the paradigm shift it can create in the taxation process, heavily focuses on the use of artificial intelligence in taxation and tax auditing, as well as the taxation of artificial intelligence itself. In the second section, concepts and processes related to digitalization and e-government are examined, particularly in terms of their theoretical foundations, development processes, and the effects of the transformation they have brought about in the public sector. In the parts where artificial intelligence-based innovative applications in tax administration are featured, the opportunities and challenges that may arise from the integration of artificial intelligence systems into public financial management are emphasized. The third section, which discusses the reflections of digital transformation on tax audit practices in tax audit processes, includes analyses on how risk analysis-based approaches can strengthen e-audit capacity in the context of fake document examinations. In the fourth section of the book, policy tools promoting tax compliance, education and awareness activities, digitalization and facilitating reforms in tax administration, and punitive and rewarding mechanisms are discussed. This section includes evaluations on new problem areas that may arise in terms of data security and ethics, while digital transformation reduces compliance costs and strengthens transparency and administrative capacity.
The common idea of the sections in the book is that the digitalization experienced in the field of taxation is not merely a technical modernization; it also represents a process with multi-layered transformation dimensions related to behavioral compliance, institutional learning, and governance quality. If policymakers, practitioners, and researchers can accurately evaluate the risks and opportunities brought about by digitalization in the areas of risk analysis, tax auditing, revenue administration, and tax compliance, significant successes can be achieved in the implementation of tax policies, and problems arising from tax compliance between tax administration and taxpayers can be largely reduced. Furthermore, this situation can also make a positive contribution to the development of transparency in the field of taxation.