Tax geopolitics: The historical-social appropriation of space and the value-added tax

Abstract

The “interjurisdictional competition”, also known in Brazil as “tax war”, is an issue which complexity has federative, fiscal, historical, political, and regional nuances. The efforts to remedy such conflicts have been focusing on attempts to pass a tax reform to consolidate state’s value-added taxes (ICMS) laws. They propose to shift the interstate tax incidence to the time and place of consumption. This paper aims to investigate the conjunctural determinants of this space-time matrix, by identifying the concrete features of this new order. Through a critical review of the organizational and institutional formats – considered as “adequate” for the context of modern state – by identifying contradictions. In addition, to subsidize the debate in the literature about the subject, the text seeks to subsidize the orientation and application of public policies in the area.