By Jos Pio Martins*(Opinion) There are plentiful examples in global experience demonstrating that the government is efficient in the art of impoverishing the rich, but its not efficient in enriching the poor.The more money it takes from the population through increasing taxation, the more the government inflates the state apparatus and allocates more funds to certain casts of public servants across all three powers, contributing to the worsening income concentration.Its worth noting that even within the public sector, there are categories of poorly paid servants.Harmful government interventions usually include policies and measures that inhibit initiative, increase legal uncertainty, decrease economic actors trust in laws and institutions, and often generate inflation, excessive taxation, and hostility towards free enterprise.This reality exists in many countries but is particularly pronounced in Latin America and Africa.Economic policies and measures that create distortions in the economy and income distribution harm the neediest population particularly, and even when the economy grows, the proportion of the poor and destitute doesnt decrease.Ececution of Lavoisier, May 8, 1794.
(Photo Internet reproduction)A law can only be genuine if it is a fair conduct standard, equal for all, applicable to an unknown number of future cases, and aimed at preserving life, liberty, and property.The economy is like a machine that operates efficiently if well-lubricated and well-regulated, but if bad and unstable rules contaminate it, the machine stalls and performs poorly.One of the politicians failures is their sociological understanding of the economy and its actors, plus ignorance about what the economy is as a system of complex parts full of friction.For these and other reasons, in a free society, its important to limit government powers, and thats one of the roles of democracy.In genuine democratic regimes, at least four characteristics should be present: freedom of speech and opinion, free elections and secret voting, the existence of opposition, and rotation of leadership.Achieving these instruments, without which there is no democracy, depends on laws voted on by the peoples representatives and the operation of the Rule of Law.Defenders of freedom are not anti-state, but they advocate for a state that cant do everything, confined to certain collective functions and with limited powers, because the art of governance necessarily involves the concentration of powers.Herein lies the question of taxation and tax reform.The government, the executive arm of the state, should not have the power to levy taxes.
This competency should belong to the peoples representatives.At this time, Brazils National Congress is advancing tax reform, the burden of which on the population is unknown.The fact is that Brazil has never carried out tax reform that has reduced the tax burden on the population.In significant national revolutions, the revolt against taxes has been present.For example, in the English Revolution (1689), the American Revolution (1776), and the French Revolution (1789), one of the causes was the revolt against heavy taxation.In the English Revolution, there was a revolt against the high taxes levied by the king.England was living under an absolute monarchy.The king held full powers and was not subject to the same laws imposed on citizens.The revolution ended the absolute monarchy, instituted a parliamentary monarchy, and part of the kings powers were transferred to parliament.The principle that there can be no taxation without representation was born.Without checks, the government is dangerous and prone to use its weapons against the population and in favor of the state.And one of the powerful weapons is the power to tax.The American Revolution was fueled by the Tea Revolt.The British Crown had imposed heavy taxes on tea exported to the United States, causing widespread outrage in 1773, even among the English immigrants who had settled in North America.During the French Revolution, enraged producers rebelled against the increased taxes and the figure of the contractors (or tax farmers), who had been granted by the king the right to collect taxes on specific products or regions in exchange for payment.Antoine Lavoisier, the renowned scientist considered the father of modern chemistry, was executed by the rebels in December 1771 because he was a contractor.Unrestrained, the government becomes dangerous and inclined to use its power against the population in favor of the State.One of its powerful tools is the power of taxation, as warned by Antonio Gramsci (1891-1937), who urged communists to abandon the idea of nationalizing the means of production and instead gain control over property through increased taxation.* Jos Pio Martins is an economist and professor who teaches Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Corporate Finance, and Philosophy in undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
He has held various noteworthy positions in his career, including serving as the Secretary of Planning in Londrina, the Director-General of the State Treasury of Paran, the Vice President of the State Bank of Paran, and the rector of the Universidade Positivo.