Impacto de la sentencia de unificación jurisprudencial 2019-CE-SUJ-4-009 sobre el impuesto de alumbrado público, en los municipios del departamento del Meta

Abstract

The public lighting tax is a municipal tax that was created by Law 97 of 1913, currently has a constitutional framework and jurisprudential development, it is charged to taxpayers for the illumination of streets and public spaces of a city. This tax is intended to cover expenses related to the installation, maintenance and repair of public lighting, as well as to finance other public services related to lighting. This tax is important to ensure the safety and well-being of the citizens, since adequate lighting of streets and public spaces reduces the risk of accidents and crimes, as well as improves the quality of life of the city's inhabitants. In accordance with the principles of tax autonomy and decentralization enshrined in the Political Constitution of 1991 and the taxing power also granted in the Magna Carta to the territorial entities, the Municipal Councils must establish the elements of the public lighting tax in their jurisdiction, these are, active subject, passive subject, generating fact, taxable base and rate. The above power given by the legislator to the territorial entities led to the existence of different interpretative criteria to determine the elements of the public lighting service tax in most of the municipalities of the country, thus generating litigation against the territorial entities, in most cases with adverse decisions for the municipalities. It was the municipality of Cáceres - Antioquia who in second instance requested the Council of State as the closing body of the Contentious Administrative Jurisdiction, to unify its jurisprudence in relation to the essential elements of the tax on public lighting, a request to which the High Corporation agreed by issuing judgment 2019CE-SUJ-4-009 of November 6, 2019, with which clarity is given to the local tax administration and decreases litigation in this aspect.