O imposto seletivo na atual reforma tributária no Brasil : análise sob a perspectiva do controle extrafiscal do Estado

Abstract

Constitutional Amendment No. 132/2023 introduced significant changes to the Brazilian National Tax System by creating the Selective Tax, a federal tax levied on goods and services considered harmful to health or the environment. Predominantly extrafiscal in nature, this tax aims to influence social behavior by discouraging the consumption of harmful products. However, the broad discretion granted to the legislature to define taxable goods and establish tax rates raises important constitutional concerns regarding the limits of its application and the risk of misuse for primarily revenue-generating purposes. In this context, this study aims to analyze the constitutional limits and legal mechanisms capable of ensuring that the Selective Tax remains consistent with its extrafiscal purpose. The research adopts a legal-dogmatic method with a hypothetical-deductive approach, based on bibliographical research and the analysis of the Federal Constitution, Constitutional Amendment No. 132/2023, Complementary Law No. 214/2025, and the case law of the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court. The study examines constitutional tax principles, particularly proportionality, reasonableness, tax equality, legal certainty, and the prohibition of confiscatory taxation, as well as legislative and judicial review, transparency, public participation, and policy evaluation as mechanisms to prevent misuse of the tax's constitutional purpose. It concludes that the constitutional legitimacy of the Selective Tax depends on the effective preservation of its extrafiscal purpose, requiring strict compliance with the constitutional limits on the State's taxing power in order to prevent its use as a merely revenue-raising instrument.