Ottoman 1928 Tax Receipt for Land Tax Payment İzmir Turkish Turkey
Ottoman Tax Receipt for Land Tax Payment – İzmir Province (1928)
Description:
This Ottoman Turkish document, titled "İzmir Vilayeti Maliye Tahsil Şubelerine Teslim Edilen Mebaliğe Mahsus Makbuz Senedi" ("Receipt for Sums Delivered to the Finance Collection Offices of İzmir Province"), is an official tax receipt dated 18 Kanunuevvel 1928 (18 December 1928). It records the payment of land tax made to the provincial financial administration during the early years of the Republic of Turkey.
According to the receipt, Mehmed Seyid Bey paid a total of 6 lira and 20 santim as the tax due on Plot No. 13. The property is recorded as being located in the Şakran neighborhood, an area in the İzmir region with a long history of agricultural settlement and land ownership. The document represents a typical example of the taxation of immovable property during the transitional period between the Ottoman Empire and the modern Republic.
One of the most remarkable aspects of this receipt is its language. Although the Turkish Alphabet Reform had officially been introduced in November 1928, this document, issued only weeks later, was still prepared entirely in Ottoman Turkish script. It provides valuable evidence of the practical transition from the Arabic-based Ottoman alphabet to the new Latin-based Turkish alphabet. Documents such as this illustrate that the implementation of the new writing system was gradual and that government offices continued to use Ottoman Turkish forms for a short period while adapting to the new alphabet and administrative procedures.
Bearing its original revenue stamp and official seals, the receipt is an excellent example of administrative continuity during one of the most significant cultural reforms in modern Turkish history. It demonstrates how Ottoman bureaucratic practices and printed forms remained in use even after the establishment of the Republic and immediately following the Alphabet Reform.
For collectors and researchers, this is a particularly attractive historical document connecting Ottoman administrative traditions with the early Republican period. It is especially valuable for the study of the Turkish Alphabet Reform, fiscal administration, and the history of İzmir during the transition from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey.
Key Features:
• Type: Official tax receipt
• Title: İzmir Vilayeti Maliye Tahsil Şubelerine Teslim Edilen Mebaliğe Mahsus Makbuz Senedi
• Date: 18 Kanunuevvel 1928 (18 December 1928)
• Location: Şakran, İzmir Province
• Taxpayer: Mehmed Seyid Bey
• Subject: Land tax payment for Plot No. 13
• Amount Paid: 6 lira 20 santim
• Historical Context: Documents provincial tax collection during the early Republic of Turkey and illustrates the continued use of Ottoman Turkish immediately after the Turkish Alphabet Reform of 1928, demonstrating the gradual transition to the new Latin alphabet
• Physical Features: Original revenue stamp and official seals
• Collectible Significance: Highly desirable for collectors of Ottoman Turkish documents, early Republican history, Alphabet Reform material, İzmir history, and Turkish fiscal administration.