Imposto seletivo: indutor ou inibidor à transição energética no Brasil?

Abstract

This research aims to assess, in light of the new selective tax and its actual and potential incidence on energy sources, how to establish an appropriate balance between environmental protection and the need for socioeconomic development (while safeguarding the minimum subsistence level). The specific objective is to assess whether, considering the national energy and logistics matrices, socioeconomic underdevelopment (an obstacle to the consistent fulfillment of fundamental rights), and the current legal system aimed at enabling the energy transition – from fossil fuels to biofuels and other renewable energy sources – the institution of a selective tax on oil and fossil fuels would be appropriate at this time, or in the near future. The relevance of this research lies in its aim to demonstrate – by applying proportionality filters on a macro level – that in this current Brazilian context, with the current energy matrix and contemporary income distribution indices, the essentiality of oil and fossil fuels, and the broad regulatory spectrum on the topic, combined with the preexisting extra-fiscal tax instruments – especially the CIDE (Contribution on the Participation in the Consumption of Goods) and differentiated tax rates for biofuels – Complementary Law No. 214/25 was right or wrong in taxing oil and not taxing fuels with the Selective Tax. The main question guiding this study is: to what extent does a Selective Tax on oil and fossil fuels have the potential to contribute to sustainable development in the current national scenario? The scope of this study is to contribute to ensuring that this energy transformation, essential to environmental protection, is carried out in a sustainable, inclusive manner, and in line with national realities – and not in response to foreign interests or models – and, above all, in accordance with one of the most basic commandments of Constitutional Democracy: leaving no Brazilian behind.