Social Policy Influences in the Field of Tax Policy

Having regard to the constitutional provisions concerning the national public budget, which establish, as a matter of principle, that the national public budget comprises the State budget, the State social security budget, and the local budgets of parishes, towns, and counties, made up mostly from fees, as well as from other revenues, in this paper, I intend to examine to what extent the separate imposition of non-harmonised direct taxes is compatible with the constitutional provisions on the fair distribution of the tax burden. In this context, I note that the constitutional legislature itself has foreseen the possibility of setting up funds, available to entities, but provided that the amounts representing contributions to such funds be used exclusively for their intended purpose. Such contributions complement the budgetary resources and the imposition thereof can be achieved through infraconstitutional rules. One example is Government Emergency Ordinance no. 77/2011 establishing a contribution to finance expenditures on health.