TAX REGRESSIVITY AS A CONSTITUTIONAL PROBLEM: A CHALLENGE TO FISCAL JUSTICE

Abstract

This article analyzes the structure of the Brazilian tax system from a constitutional legal perspective of fiscal justice, identifying as its central problem the predominance of taxation levied on consumption. It is based on the hypothesis that the centrality of indirect taxes undermines the effectiveness of the ability-to-pay principle and weakens the progressivity required by the 1988 Federal Constitution. The objective is to examine the regressivity of the national tax framework in light of the principles of substantive equality, tax progressivity, and the fundamental objectives of the Republic. The study adopts a qualitative methodology, including a bibliographic review of specialized scholarship and a normative analysis of relevant constitutional and infra-constitutional provisions. It employs the deductive method, combined with a hermeneutic approach aimed at ensuring the maximum effectiveness of constitutional tax norms. The findings indicate that the heavy reliance on taxes levied on goods and services produces regressive effects, disproportionately burdening lower-income groups, while taxation on income and wealth remains insufficiently progressive. The article concludes that the current model exhibits a deficit of conformity with the constitutional project of fiscal justice, thus requiring a normative reorientation toward strengthening direct and progressive taxation.