El IPUSU en Colombia: Análisis desde la Igualdad Material y Finalidad Extrafiscal Ambiental

Abstract

This reflective article analyzes whether the national tax on single-use plastic products used for packaging, wrapping, or packing goods (IPUSU) is compatible with the principle of substantive equality and with the principles of tax equity and progressivity, in light of its extrafiscal purpose of environmental protection. To this end, it adopts a legal-dogmatic methodology with a descriptive and analytical scope, based on the review of normative, case law, and doctrinal sources related to environmental taxation and constitutional tax principles. The study first characterizes the legal-tax structure of the IPUSU and its function as an instrument for correcting externalities; second, it examines the content of substantive equality and its projection onto equity and progressivity; and finally, it identifies the tensions arising between the corrective purpose of the tax and the demands of tax justice. As a result, it is argued that the extrafiscal purpose of the tax does not preclude a review of its material constitutionality regarding the way in which it distributes tax burdens, especially when it falls on goods with limited substitutability and may generate regressive effects. The article concludes that the IPUSU is not inherently incompatible with the principles examined; however, its material legitimacy depends on the reasonableness of its design, its actual corrective capacity, and the articulation of compensatory and transitional mechanisms aimed at preventing a disproportionate impact on sectors with lower economic capacity.