HOW TAXES DO JUSTICE.
Normally, we are used to seeing taxes as a way of penality, attack or even violence. Some people see taxes as if they were only for a service provided by the State, as if the tax was a rate, that you pay in order to receive something in charge. Well, that’s not true. When we talk about taxes, we have to embrace all the functions they have besides the “rate” one and its arrecadatory character. This Tax Law issue is (and was) very well discussed all around the globe, and a lot of Law Scientists have dedicated their career and work to it. But, apparently, they have come to a simple characterization, and that’s what we are going to talk about in this brief article.
Tax Collection, Revenues: it is the most considered taxation function, due to its revenue given to the State. It is what really sustains the State and its activities. However, when we talk about the State and its work, we are talking about every and each one of us. From the moment we live in a civilized society, we share institutions, and because of this we need to finance this expensive structure.
Regulatory function: this is a very important side of the tributes, since it is the source of the State’s influence in the behavior of the population, for example, increasing the taxation on tobacco or alcoholic beverages in order to raise the price of harmful substances and decrease their consumption. This function, as some studies say, is attached to public policies, such as redirecting revenue to health care or public education programs.
Redistribution function: it is the most controversial function. Most States adopt the principle of “progressive”; in other words, the principle that says that who has the greatest capacity to contribute, should contribute more, proportionately. When the State taxes willy-nilly it is doing an income redistribution, helping to reduce social inequalities and, of course, it’s tied to public policies.
Taxation is a very controversial topic as a whole. Discussing more and really thinking about it and its functions has been shown as indispensable for us to build a fairer society for all.
Bibliographic References:
MARINHO, Marina Soares. As funções da tributação. 1. ed. Belo Horizonte: Letramento, 2019. v. 1. 236p
AUMANN, Robert J.; KURZ, Mordecai. Power and taxes. Econometrica: Journal of the Econometric Society, p. 1137–1161, 1977.
ALLEN, Stephen P. Taxes, redistribution, and the minimum wage: A theoretical analysis. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, v. 102, n. 3, p. 477–489, 1987.
KEELER, Theodore E. et al. Taxation, regulation, and addiction: a demand function for cigarettes based on time-series evidence. Journal of health economics, v. 12, n. 1, p. 1–18, 1993.
VIOL, Andréa Lemgruber. A finalidade da tributação e sua difusão na sociedade. Seminário de Políticas Tributárias, v. 2, 2005.
