The rejection of the idea of legislating a tax reform is an unfortunate fact for our country. We have lost as a society the opportunity to discuss and perfect our tax system, which suffers from significant injustices. On the one hand, not necessarily those who earn the most are those who contribute the most, since our tax rules contain defects and complexities that cause inequities and threaten ideals such as simplicity and legal certainty, affecting to a greater or lesser degree economic activity and investment.
The rejected bill contained very valuable improvements that brought us closer to a more egalitarian and progressive tax system, such as the elimination of some exemptions or benefits that are currently not justified and that compromise the principle of tax equality. However, it also contained questionable measures that were only going to cause more complexity to the system, and even strain some fundamental rights of taxpayers. In this regard, it is regrettable that the bill had not addressed concrete measures to correct and improve the problems and shortcomings in allocating and distributing public expenditure. Let us recall the words of L. Murphy and T. Nagel that the tax justice of a country is not a quality that should only be predicated on taxes and the collection aspect, but also on justice and efficiency in the way in which the resources collected are allocated and distributed to those who need it most.
Given the difficulty of insisting on this bill in the Senate, the call is none other than for the Executive and Legislative branches to recognize responsibly and as soon as possible the defects of our tax system, to legislate within next year the necessary modifications, with the greatest willingness to seek common ground for the benefit of all Chilean society.
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The content expressed in this opinion column is the sole responsibility of its author, and does not necessarily reflect the editorial line or position of El Mostrador.
