INSTITUIREA ÎNDATORIRILOR CONSTITUŢIONALE CU PRIVIRE LA CONTRIBUŢIA PRIN IMPOZITE ŞI TAXE LA CHELTUIELILE PUBLICE
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES REGARDING CONTRIBUTION THROUGH TAXES AND DUTIES TO PUBLIC EXPENDITURE

Summary/Abstract: The increase or decrease of budget revenues or loans, as well as the increase or decrease of budget expenditure, regardless of the legal significance of the legislative proposal or of the amendment to the annual budget law, has acquired an immense political value in parliamentary practice. This occurs because the budget reflects the entire political programme of the government, and its being voted by Parliament implies the presentation of the government’s entire policy. In this regard, the budget can influence the policy of the regime, determining the volume and diversity of budget expenditure, in correlation with: the sources of revenue, their amount and the category of taxpayers, an indisputable fact through which the constitutional norm imposed on the legislative power the requirement to coordinate in order for the Government to accept the legislative proposals or the amendments proposed by the legislature, with a view to avoiding voluntarism on the part of the people’s elected representatives. Article 58 paragraph (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova reads that: “citizens have the obligation to contribute, through taxes and duties, to the public expenditure.” We note that restricting the range of taxpayers only to the citizens of the state may – from a constitutional point of view – raise debates on the issue of exempting other tax-liable subjects, such as the legal persons, from fundamental duties. The emergence of this legal nuance was based on the inspiration for this article drawn from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is limited solely to the civic duties of natural persons. In this context, we propose revising Article 58 paragraph (1) of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, to read as follows: “persons have the obligation to contribute, through taxes and duties, to the public expenditure.” Whereas the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova served as a mirror of inspiration for the Moldovan legislator, the same legal controversy may arise in parliamentary debates in the Parliament of Romania concerning the lawfulness of imposing obligations on legal persons. In this context, we consider that it would be imperative to amend Article 56 paragraph (1) – Financial contributions of the Constitution of Romania, to read as follows: “persons have the obligation to contribute, through taxes and duties, to the public expenditure.”

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