Introduction
The present document tries to analyze the utility and the benefit that the contributions reflect in our modern society and the conglomerate of people who are mainly concentrated in the cities, for which the implementation of services is necessary, even when as citizens we complain about the action to pay or comply with the contributions imposed by the tax authority, whether at the Federal, State or Municipal level, either for lack of information on the subject or simply for the fact of giving a part of our profits, salaries, among other things it bothers us and it does not seem fair, or due to the fact that the resources concentrated by these concepts are not reflected according to the origin for which they were created or are translated into works of social benefit, educational and health infrastructure,food programs, etc. With due transparency in the entire process from its capture, registration, distribution, application and the publication where they were applied.
With this essay we will try to define briefly an outline of the history from how the contributions arose and the why of them, it will help us to understand why we have to pay them and what are our rights and obligations as taxpayers and the strict need to comply with those obligations to contribute to public spending.
Knowing how the Public Treasury developed in Mexico is to realize another important area in the history of Mexico, recognizing the importance of economic activities in the development of the states and their inhabitants.
Background
To speak of contributions is to go back to the ancient civilizations that tried to satisfy material and spiritual needs for fulfillment perhaps considered by them as divine, as for example in the book of Genesis of the Bible, it makes mention that Joseph commanded the people of Israel to give the fifth of all the fruits of his labor to Pharaoh.
And so in this context, since the beginning of humanity all ancient civilizations have been developing this practice of contributing in kind, we can exemplify this type of actions in Biblical times Egypt, some records describe the trips that the hierarch made, that is, Pharaoh for their territory to collect tributes.
To mention more examples, the writings mention that in Greece a tax system of some sophistication was developed. For example, there was a tribute called eisphorá that the wealthiest paid to pay for war expenses, it is important to add that the first taxes that were collected were customs duties called portorium, by the Roman culture, which called the public treasury as aerarium - hence our treasury comes - which was accumulated from the collection of taxes or taxation.
It is also necessary and important to mention in this topic that, as a consequence there were tax collectors, according to the Gospels Matthew, who according to tradition turns out to be the writer of the gospel that bears his name, was a publican, who in our language would be a tax collector for the Roman government.
Tax collectors have never been popular with their fellow citizens. Jesus' time was no exception in this regard, either. The text indicates that Mateo collected the taxes for Rome, this was the first reason for rejection, since they were collaborators of the Roman occupier, they collaborated with an empire that had subjugated them and made them lose their political independence and economically squeezed them. Simply for this reason they were already considered marginal people and worthy of all contempt on the part of their compatriots.
Likewise in America, indigenous cultures such as the Inca, Azteca and Chibcha, paid the taxes fairly through a well-organized contribution system. At the time of the Roman Empire, the Emperor Constantine extended the taxes to all the incorporated cities "to make Rome great", in his own words.
According to History in Europe, during the Middle Ages, the tributes were paid by the settlers in kind to the feudal lords, with the vegetables or animals that grew in the small plots that were assigned to them, and to the Catholic Church in the way known as " tithes and firsts ”, mandatory and related to the elimination of possible chains after death. It is worth noting that when both worlds were known, the tax between merchants was one ship per fleet lost in the seas.
Modern taxes, as we know them today, were introduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the taxes that were created in this period, the following stood out: the income tax on the exporter, the importer, the seller and taxes on production, among others (the production chain).
Content
Contribution (very often in the singular: ("contributions") is a tribute to be collected by the taxpayer or beneficiary of an economic profit, the justification of which is the obtaining by the taxable person (receiving citizen) of a benefit or an increase in value of their assets as a result of carrying out public works or establishing or expanding public services Contribution comes from the word contribute.
Administrative activity is aimed at satisfying public needs of the community, considered as a whole, but obviously benefits (whether it is proposed or not) to certain individuals, due to their greater wealth, and that is the justification that is usually adduced to demand their financing, total or partial, through special contributions.
Contributions can be established at the Federal, State and Municipal level, as already mentioned, but it is in the latter where they reach their best expression and meaning, because it is easier to indicate a global quota to be able to distribute among the population of a certain municipal sector. than in higher areas, since it is in municipal works and services where citizens are most closely affected and where the most special benefit or interest is revealed, in order to make it a point of reference for taxation and payment of the quotas of the charges of the State.
The contribution is a legal obligation of Public Law for the support of public expenses in a proportional and equitable way. In accordance with ARTICLE 31 FRACTION IV CONSTITUTIONAL, “Mexicans are obliged to contribute to public expenses, both of the Federation, as well as of the Federal District or the State and Municipality in which they reside, in a proportional and equitable manner provided by law.. This proportionality and equity has been interpreted on multiple occasions by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation as a synonym of contributory capacity.
In this essay, it is important to point out the application of the concepts of the constitutional precept or provision related to proportionality and equity, in which they point out to contribute to public expenses in an obligatory way because this is what the laws indicate and it also indicates that To be carried out proportionally and equitably, jurists define “proportionality to be understood, that axiological principle, by virtue of which the tax laws, by constitutional mandate, in accordance with the legal interpretation, must establish quotas, rates or progressive rates that tax the taxpayers based on their economic capacity and the cost of other tax charges, that is, physically affecting a fair and reasonable part of the income,profits or returns obtained by each individually considered taxpayer; and, to distribute evenly among all the existing and available sources of wealth, the global impact of the tax burden, so that it is not supported by one or more sources in particular, since it has a normative relationship with the financial situation of the federation, federative entity and municipality, in the sense of distributing public spending among taxpayers or universe of taxpayers.in the sense of distributing public spending among taxpayers or universe of taxpayers.in the sense of distributing public spending among taxpayers or universe of taxpayers.
This principle of proportionality is achieved through the establishment of a progressive rate so that people with high incomes are taxed qualitatively higher than those with medium and low incomes, that is, the more they tax the more they earn, consequently the less they tax. the one who earns the least, establishing a consistent difference between the various income levels.
Equity can be defined as that principle derived from the value of justice by virtue of which, by constitutional mandate, and in accordance with legal interpretation, tax laws must grant equal treatment to all taxpayers of the same tax credit in all aspects of the tax relationship (causation hypothesis, object, basis, date of payment, deductible expenses, etc.).
Among others, the following principles applicable to contributions can be seen in the Mexican Constitution:
- Principle of legality. Principle of equality. Principle of generality. Principle of proportionality and equity. Principle of non-confiscation. Principle of budgetary annuity.
There are some definitions of contributions, but for this purpose of arguing the utility and necessity of contributions and already located in our current time, it is important to avoid knowledge and acceptance as defined and classified by contributions, our Federal Constitution of the Republic defines in the 2nd article. Contributions are classified into: Taxes, Social Security Contributions, Improvement Contributions and Rights.
Nonconformity factors in contributions:
a).- Tax evasion is a common practice in most countries and particularly in our country. To reduce it, a number of factors influence:
- A strict and credible application of the law, implying appropriate collection and enforcement capabilities; A set of penalties for those who evade taxes. The punishment must be high enough so that the cost of compliance is reduced, in relative terms; A tax system that is even and less complicated. Complexity creates gaps in the law that make detecting irregularities very difficult. It also creates many possibilities for tax avoidance. Tax avoidance, unlike evasion, is any action that uses loopholes in the law to decrease the payment of taxes (that is, the avoidance is legal).
b).- The diversion of resources of the rulers in turn in any of their Federal, State and municipal spheres, coupled with the complicity of the instances in applying the Law.
conclusion
The Mexican tax system is very complex, so the comprehensive tax reform must contemplate an injection of simplicity. The elimination of various special treatments for various sectors of the economy should also be considered, since we have already seen that some Mexicans contribute according to the law, while many pay very little or pay nothing.
- Tax evasion is very high. Efforts must be made to reduce it, including actions of administrative simplification, creation of incentives to increase the payment culture, and strict application of the law. Likewise, the penalties for evasion must be increased. Finally, there is still corruption in the collecting arm of the government, a practice that must be attacked more firmly. In addition, people have to know that their money is spent well and efficiently. In other words, the most important incentive to encourage the payment of taxes is to spend well.
Taxpayers should be able to appreciate that their contributions serve to improve the standard of living of all Mexicans. Two essential concepts should be taken up here: that of transparency, which implies clarity in the allocation and use of public resources; and that of accountability, which suggests that in order to pay contributions at ease, impunity must be reduced. If an official diverts, steals, or misapplies resources, he must be clearly identifiable by the affected social sectors, and must be imputable.
What is strictly a reality in Mexico from the birth of a citizen to death contributes in an obligatory way.
It is not possible that the man of our days believe in the rule of law in which he lives, nor contribute loyally and diligently to the lifting of public charges, if the Administration does not rigorously submit its fiscal acts to a legal order that instills security in its relations with particular economies. How many times fraud is but a clumsy and bitter reaction against a State in which faith has been lost! ” Fernando Sainz de Bujanda
Bibliographical sources
- Essay of Lic. José Francisco Duque Alanís. Law degree from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, Time Professor of the Law Degree from the Latin University of America, Latin University of America-IUS Law Review. PROPORTIONALITY AND EQUITY. Notes provided by Dr. Pablo Cesar León Álvarez. Notes by Gloria Lucero Rubio Giraldo-Google.
