Libertà fiscale. Alcune chiarificazioni filosofico-giuridiche

This article attempts to shed light on the notion of fiscal freedom by developing two minimalist theses, merely designed to clarify what fiscal freedom is not: a) the relationship between taxation and freedom cannot be thought of in merely economic and merely dichotomous terms; b) negative freedom is a necessary but not sufficient condition of fiscal freedom. To substantiate these claims, it focuses mainly on the fallacies and errors inherent in the way the relationship between freedom and taxation is commonly thought of, starting with the main ontological and epistemological shortcomings of the Indexes of Fiscal Freedom. The “Myth of ownership” versus “Myth of state” debate as well as the problems of fiscal tyranny and legal certainty are then analyzed to show how the notion of fiscal freedom cannot do without a minimal core of negative freedom, and how this is still not sufficient. Finally, it is shown how the economic and empirical literature on tax compliance and tax morale, and the rediscovery of the category of reciprocity, can make a contribution to rethinking the problem of fiscal freedom and tax coercion.