Tax Reform

what the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has to tell us?

Abstract

Tax reform is a constant theme in the Congress, and there are several initiatives in order to change the Brazilian tax system. Although always understood as an eminently internal matter, international law can influence the structuring of the tax system. This article proposes to analyze the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and to identify its duties as a parameter to assess tax reforms. Although the ICESCR does not determine how countries should structure their tax systems, the duty of progressive realization of social rights in the context of the maximum use of available resources means that taxation should be able to provide that context and enable the realization of the ICESCR rights. ICESCR does not allow States to promote or aggravate the regressive taxation and the concentration of taxation on the most vulnerable part of the population.