Modulação de efeitos em matéria tributária: análise quanto aos fundamentos constitucionais, à estrutura normativa e às possibilidades de aplicação

Abstract

The object of study of this dissertation is the institution of modulation effects, provided by the Article 27 of Brazilian Federal Law n. 9.868/99, when applied in tax matters. The problem arises from the fact that taxpayers' rights are recognized as a fundamental right, which is why a considerable part of the national legal doctrine believes that modulation effects, in tax matters, can only be given in favour of the taxpayers; because the reasons of state could never supplant the exercise of fundamental rights. This work focuses on the theory of contemporaneous constitutionalism, lays the understanding that the current Democratic State of Law presupposes the rescue of the moral subject, which was achieved by assigning full normativity of fundamental human rights conveyed by indeterminate concepts which provide ample space for action by the judiciary. Given this framework, this work studies the role of the legal argument in the legitimation of judicial acts. A study shall be conducted to identify the boundary between interpretation and judicial discretion. It concludes that it is possible for courts to decide to use practical and consequentialist arguments, whether economical or not, once provided their reappointment due to the legal system, through rational discourse. It undertakes logical-syntactic analysis of the modulation rule, and verifies that the object of cognition for the award of prospective decision on constitutionality control effects involves a risk analysis. In an attempt to frame the rule of modulation at the “Matrix Incidence Rule”, it concludes about the need for inclusion of a new criterion, here called “circumstantial”, at the normative hypothesis. It undertakes a study about the application of the modulation of effects in accordance with the supremacy of the constitution. The paper also focuses on the justifications given to the taxing power in the democratic state environment and the about the role of tax in the realization of fundamental rights and the protection of human dignity. It also explores and discusses the theory of the fundamental rights of taxpayers, correlates taxation to human rights, deals with the role of the principle of legal certainty in tax matters and concludes that its use, chiefly in the areas of modulation of effects, can only be given in favour of taxpayers. It talks about the role of the state in the fulfilment of fundamental rights, both social and individual, and the necessary mitigation of the deep separation between the interests of taxpayers and tax authorities, considering that both serve the same purpose, which is the realization of the human person. It aims to address that, in exceptional cases, the modulation of effects can be given in favour of the state, when its indispensability for maintaining public institutions or policies related to the implementation of fundamental rights is demonstrated.