A Debate on Form and Content

the Limits of Scientific Debate and the Specific Issue of the Relationship Between Tax Law and Fundamental Rights

Abstract

The present article aims at responding to criticisms directed against the argument that taxation does not restrict fundamental rights. From a formal point of view, the article first addresses the limits of scientific debate, identifying argumentative fallacies in the criticism presented with the purpose of fixing the terms of the present answer at scientific levels, without entering into qualifications of a personal nature, which add nothing to the dogmatic debate about the topic. From a material point of view, the article addresses the position of German doctrine on the relationship between tax and fundamental rights, the correction of the statement that tax restricts fundamental rights, even though this restriction can, if exercised in accordance with the Constitution and the law, be legitimate, the distinction between tax norms that directly and indirectly influence behavior and the interpretive differences arising from this distinction and the correction of these arguments in light of the content of the Brazilian Constitution.