Banca de DEFESA: Cícero de Oliveira Sabino

THE BRAZILIAN TAX MATRIX AND THE CHALLENGES OF TAXATION ON THE PHENOMENON OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

Tax Matrix; Digital Economy; Regressivity; Taxation; Inequalities;

This research arose from the relevance of analyzing the Brazilian Tax System in conjunction with the phenomenon of the disruptive economy, which has been impacting the entire world in various ways. Traditional economic models are being surpassed in the face of this new economy, which has been called the 4th Industrial Revolution. It is undeniable that this transformation has significantly changed the way business is conducted, making it imperative for government actions to be in step with this process, which presents new forms of management, circulation, and wealth generation.

While these new businesses are benefiting many people, especially those operating in the digital economy without proper taxation, to the detriment of taxpayers in the traditional economy who are taxed based on their economic activities, other global challenges are also emerging, such as those in consumer relations, labor relations, social security, financial markets, and, above all, taxation. Of all of these, the most urgent issue for governments, international organizations, and civil societies, concerning the implications of a digital economy, may be the implications for taxation.

In fact, it is the duty of the State to act proactively (and even reactively) to avoid further exacerbating wealth concentration in the country, which would increase social inequality and, even more sharply, the imbalance in the distribution of the tax burden in Brazil. In this context, there is an urgent need to analyze the Brazilian Tax System in light of this scenario of cyber businesses, identifying potential problems in achieving fair and proper taxation of economic agents, as well as thinking of solutions that allow the national tax system to act in harmony with economic disruption, as the State needs to have effective tools available for the full and regular exercise of its Power to Tax