Perspectivas da seletividade tributária no Brasil perante a implementação do imposto seletivo pela reforma tributária (EC N.º132/2023) como instrumento de justiça social

Abstract

This work critically analyzes the prospects of tax selectivity in Brazil, focusing on the implementation of the Selective Tax (IS), established by Constitutional Amendment No. 132/2023, as a potential instrument of social justice. The investigation is based on the premise that extrafiscality, the regulatory function of taxes, is a consolidated tool for inducing behaviors and correcting negative externalities. The study explores the history of sin taxation in the country, through taxes such as the IPI, and its limitations, such as regressivity, the promotion of the illegal market, and the critique of fiscal illusion. Through bibliographic and documentary research, the analysis addresses the new constitutional design of the IS, its purpose of discouraging the consumption of products harmful to health and the environment, and compares it with international models of sin taxes. Additionally, the work employs the theoretical framework of Behavioral Economics to examine the tax's effectiveness, considering factors such as limited rationality, cognitive biases, and demand inelasticity, which challenge the measure's efficacy. It is concluded that the Selective Tax represents an advancement and has the potential to promote social justice, but its success is not guaranteed. Its effectiveness depends on rigorous technical calibration, complementary public policies, and, crucially, overcoming the risk of a deviation of purpose, where the revenue-raising function overrides its extrafiscal vocation. The legitimacy of the tax is, therefore, conditioned on its ability to generate proven social benefits that justify its burdens.