LIBERALISM, INEQUALITY AND TAX LAW/LIBERALISMO, DESIGUALDADE E DIREITO TRIBUTARIO

The absence of a consistent critique of free market ideology has supported discourses that tend to exalt the way in which this form of capitalism can efficiently produce wealth, regardless of how the wealth produced will ultimately be divided among individuals. This has given rise to the rhetoric that the state should "not intervene" (in reality, that it should do so, but only to the benefit of the wealthy). By increasing the financial capacity of the rich through tax breaks, free marketeers have held that the poor would also benefit. Such unwarranted faith in the ability of laissez-faire capitalism to solve social problems has recently come under fire due to the studies on inequality presented by French economist Thomas Piketty, who argues that taxation should have a key role in building more just and equal societies. The primary purpose of this article is to analyse how tax law can make a real contribution towards realizing social justice within a capitalist order. This will be done so through a political-philosophical and legal perspective. As we demonstrate, redistributive taxation is a true requirement of the most advanced form of liberalism today, as well as a product of democratic struggles. Our hope is this article will clarify the difficult relationship between the liberal thought, the problematic of social inequality, and taxation.