The historical evolution of tax crime legislation is a legal reflection of a country's commitment to preserving fiscal sovereignty, pursuing social justice, and integrating with the global system. This process not only ensures the state's power to tax but also fosters the establishment of a penal legal order that respects individual rights, adapts to technological transformation, and aligns with international norms.

This study chronologically and contextually analyzes the historical transformation of legislation concerning tax crimes and penalties in Türkeye from the proclamation of the Republic to the present day (1926–2025) through a five-period framework. The research holistically addresses the processes through which tax criminal law has gained autonomy from general criminal law, undergone normative systematization, achieved international harmonization, and experienced technological transformation. The first period (1926–1949) represents a transitional phase during which tax offenses were addressed under the Turkish Penal Code as general fraud offenses, lacking a distinct regulatory framework. The second period (1949–1961) marks an institutional breakthrough, characterized by the systematization of tax criminal law through Law No. 5432 on Tax Procedure, which clarified the distinction between crimes and misdemeanors and standardized judicial procedures. The third period (1961–1980) is a maturation stage, wherein Law No. 213 on Tax Procedure established a lasting foundation for procedural tax law, and the jurisprudence of the Court of Cassation reinforced legal certainty. The fourth period (1980–2000) reflects an adaptation process in which tax crimes gained an international dimension alongside liberal economic policies, giving rise to new and complex offense types. The fifth period (2000–2025) constitutes an era of comprehensive reform shaped by the intersection of digitalization, institutional restructuring, and global transparency initiatives. The establishment of the Tax Inspection Board, the implementation of e-document applications, and the amendments made in 2022 to Article 359 of the Tax Procedure Law (introducing effective repentance and provisions on consecutive offenses) symbolize a shift in policy toward a balanced model that reconciles deterrence with restorative justice.

The study concludes that Turkish tax criminal law has been shaped by dynamics of normative independence, centralization, global integration, and technological adaptation. It is projected that technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain will further complicate the fight against tax offenses in the future, underscoring the importance of developing a technology-oriented, internationally collaborative, and rights-based legislative approach.