I. Dünya Savaşı Yıllarında Balkan Muhacirlerinden Alınan Hisse-i Teavün Vergisi

The immigrants who moved to Ottoman land from the Balkans were provided with various exemptions in military and financial aspects so that they could start new lives. The immigrants were exempted from military duty for six years from the date of immigration and inhabitation and from various taxes such as tithe, dividend and cattle tax for two years. However, the economic difficulties caused by World War I generated some problems in practice. For instance, some of the immigrants who were exempted from tithe tax registered the products of the local public as their own crop and received unfair profits. Then, on 17 June 1915, the Government resorted to collecting a new tax called “Hisse-i Teavun” tax (mutual aid share) from the tithe ratios of the crops from immigrant settlers who did agricultural production. In this way, misconducts experienced in collecting tithe tax would be eliminated and the tax collected from the well-off immigrants would be used to help the needy. Extreme attention was paid to utilize the collected tax for the needs of the immigrants. Follow up and collection of the tax was implemented under the supervision of Iskan-i Muhacirin (Immigration Settlement) Commissions in addition to local administrators. Gains such as wheat, barley and oat that were collected in the warehouses that belonged to the commissions were distributed to the immigrants for food and seed. After about a two-year practice, this tax was abolished. It was found more appropriate to provide the poor immigrants with the seed from government treasury to be paid later. This study examined the subsistence of the immigrants and “Hisse-i Teavun” collected based on the ratio of tithe from the immigrants who were previously exempted from tax by the Government as a result of the economic difficulties caused by World War I. In the light of the Prime Ministry Ottoman Archive documents, the study focused on the importance of using the tax collected as mutual aid share to be utilized for the needs of the immigrants during World War I period.