Deber de contribuir y capacidad contributiva: el fundamento constitucional de la obligación tributaria en Colombia y Brasil

Abstract

Adopting a descriptive, comparative, and critical approach, this article examines the tax frameworks of Colombia and Brazil through their constitutional provisions, case law, statutory developments, and specialized doctrine. Its central thesis posits that the legitimacy of taxation does not rest merely on the formal enactment of a law, but on the tax system’s ability to distribute public burdens equitably, justly, and proportionally. While both jurisdictions share the imperative to raise revenue under the guiding principles of equity, equality, and progressivity without confiscatory effects, their legal architectures diverge. Brazil’s Federal Constitution explicitly establishes economic capacity as an organizing criterion (Article 145). In contrast, the Colombian Constitution omits an autonomous text for contributory capacity, relying instead on the triad of equity, efficiency, and progressivity to govern tax obligations across national and subnational levels.