Cumhuriyet’in İlk Yıllarında Bekârlık Vergisi’ne İlişkin Tartışmalar
Arguments on the Tax of Celibacy in the first years of the Republic

Summary/Abstract: Matrimony, which provides a basis for family and population policies, has frequently occupied the agenda of the country since the War of Independence. Incentivizing bachelors to get married has been considered among the measures to be taken for the purpose of increasing the population. In this sense, the first legislative proposal with regards to collecting tax on celibacy was made on the date of October 19th, 1920 by Canik Parliamentarian Hamdi Bey. Subsequent to the proposal submitted by Hamdi Bey, the “The legislative proposal regarding the Compulsory Marriage” by Erzurum Parliamentarian Salih Efendi was made on February 22nd 1921. Although these proposals had not been validated by the Parliament, such actions show us the efforts in increasing the population of the country in the early years of the Republic. Following the foregoing proposals, Süleyman Sırrı İçöz, who was the Parliamentarian of Yozgat, had brought his proposal regarding the “Tax on Celibacy” to the agenda of the Parliament on March 18th, 1929. Although the said proposal initially had a broad repercussion in the press, the Parliament failed to pass it. The proposal made by Mr. İçöz was later repeated in 1931, 1940, and 1944 with several amendments. The celibacy Tax proposals, its respective contents and the repercussions of the said in the press will be elaborated in this paper.

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