IPTU’s Taxable Amount: Definition by Decrees

Abstract

This article investigates whether it is legitimate for the Executive branch to change the IPTU (property tax) taxable amount, through decrees, higher than the inflation of the period, based on criteria provided by statutory law. This problem will be tackled: (i) through the theoretical analysis of the principle of material tax legality and the ideal states whose realization it seeks to promote (predictability, measurability and determinability); and (ii) by analyzing decisions of the Federal Supreme Court regarding the legitimacy of municipal laws that delegate to the Executive the updating of the IPTU taxable amount. The conclusion will assert the validity of the decrees for the appointed purpose, as long as there is a previous statute defining criteria for the valuation of the real estate properties.