Jurisdictional Assessment of Environmental Taxation

Ollero (1991), p. 457; Garcia (2020), p. 05.

Regarding the actual judicial protection, the mechanisms of popular action constitutionally foreseen in Article 53(2)(a), as provided in Law No. 83/95 of 31 August that allows the universalization of the right of action at the end of Article 9 of the Code of Procedure in Administrative Courts (CPTA) stand out. Furthermore, the role of the public prosecutor’s office as a defender of legality, public interest and, naturally, guardian of the environment by Article 219(1) of the CRP is translated into the public prosecutor’s right of public action provided for in Articles 9 and 62 of the CPTA.

About the environment as a fundamental right, see Canotilho (2004), pp. 177–189.

Pereira da Silva argues that “The right to the environment, which stems from the third generation of human rights, simultaneously presents a negative aspect, which guarantees its holder defence against illegal aggression in a constitutionally guaranteed area, and a positive aspect, which requires public entities to act to make it effective. Thus - and answering the question formulated at the beginning - the legal regime of rights, freedoms, and guarantees, in the measure of its negative dimension, and the legal regime of economic, social, and cultural rights, in the measure of its positive dimension, must be applied to the right to the environment” in “Green is one of the colours of Constitutional Law.”

“O direito ao ambiente, oriundo da terceira geração dos direitos humanos, apresenta em simultâneo uma vertente negativa, que garante ao seu titular a defesa contra agressões ilegais no domínio constitucionalmente garantido, e uma vertente positiva, que obriga à actuação das entidades públicas para a sua efectivação. Assim – e respondendo à questão formulada no início – ao direito ao ambiente é de aplicar o regime jurídico dos direitos, liberdades e garantias, na medida da sua dimensão negativa, e o regime jurídico dos direitos, económicos, sociais e culturais, na medida da sua dimensão positiva.” in Pereira da Silva (2021).

Law No. 11/87, of April 7, amended by Law No. 19/2014, of 14/4.

The expert evidence is provided in Articles 388 and 399 of the Civil Code.

Judicial presumptions are admitted under the terms of Article 351 of the Civil Code based on the judge’s conclusion based on judgments of experience, probability, logic, and intuition itself.

In a different sense, Nabais (2003a), p. 24.

On the perverse effects of a totalitarian environmental concern, see the position defended by Saraiva in her doctoral thesis. (2009), p. 224 e ss.

Cf. Article 61(1) of the CRP.

“Quando falamos da necessária intervenção do Estado na regulação das falhas de mercado e na promoção da igualdade nas matérias do ambiente, ordenamento do território e do urbanismo, não poderemos nunca esquecer a questão das falhas administrativas e das falhas de governo.” Lobo (2019).

The principles of international tax law are divided into two major groups, i.e., structural and operational. The former is the most important in the structuring of the legal and fiscal order. For the study of the principles of international tax law, see Pereira (2020).

The legislative response always requires a careful analysis and in-depth study as, otherwise, the legislative response will become an inefficient and costly placebo with no corrective function, paraphrasing Saraiva: “Even with good intentions in the pursuit of the common good, it fails in certain and determined circumstances” Saraiva (2011a), pp. 1085–1118.

As a good example, see the tax on low energy efficient light bulbs created by Decree-Law 108/2007 of 12 April, a tax measure that was accompanied by initiatives arising from synergies between private operators, the regulatory authority of the sector (ERSE) for promotion and information as well as labelling rules. On the misclassification of this tax, see Dias and da Costa (2010).

As affirmed by José de Oliveira Ascensão the principles are “great orientations of the positive order, which pass through it and vivify it.” The same author adds that the “legal order is not a casual accumulation of elements, but is illuminated by great coordinates that give it its basic outline.”. - Os princípios são “grandes orientações da ordem positiva, que a percorrem e vivificam”. Acrescenta o mesmo autor que “a ordem jurídica não é um amontoado casual de elementos, é iluminada por grandes coordenadas que lhe dão o travejamento básico” cf. de Oliveira Ascensão (2008), p. 419.

Novais (2012), p. 114 e ss.

Dourado (2020), p. 35.

“The principle of relativity in Germanic Law (verhältnismässig) that determines the search for a “compromise solution” respecting more, in a particular situation, one of the principles in conflict and trying to disrespect the minimum to the other(s) without ever lacking the minimum respect, that is, hurting their “essential core”.” Our translation of: “Princípio da relatividade no Direito Germânico (verhältnismässig), o qual determina a busca de uma” solução de compromisso”, respeitando-se mais, em determinada situação, um dos princípios em conflito, e procurando desrespeitar o mínimo ao(s) outro(s), sem jamais lhe(s) faltar minimamente com o respeito, isto é, ferindo-lhes o “núcleo essencial” (…)” Guerra Filho and Cantarini (2017). https://​enciclopediajuri​dica.​pucsp.​br/​verbete/​15/​edicao-1/​proporcionalidad​e.

Case No. 08573/12, Relator, Judge Counselor Paulo Pereira Gouveia.

Amended by Law No. 82-D/2014 of December 31.

In the same sense, Ruling No. 357/99, handed down by the Constitutional Court on June 15, 1999, reported by Judge Counsellor Artur Maurício; Ruling No. 76/88, handed down on April 7, 1988, reported by Judge Counsellor Raul Mateus.

Judgment No. 177/2010, rendered by the plenary on 5/5/2010, Case No. 742/09, Judge Counsellor Joaquim de Sousa Ribeiro.

In the same sense, Judgment No. 0929/17, rendered by the Supreme Administrative Court on 12/12/2018, Case No. 0621/12.9BEALM, reported by Judge Counsellor Francisco Rothes.

The preamble to Decree-Law No. 46/2017, of May 3.

Article 3(1)(c), of Law 58/2005 of December 29, refers to the principles of water law, namely, “The principle of the economic value of water, which includes the recognition of the current or potential scarcity of this resource and the need to ensure its economically efficient use, with the recovery of the costs of water services, even in environmental and resource terms, and based on the principles of polluter pays and user pays.”

On the right to sustainable energy, see Saraiva (2011b).

“A defesa do ambiente é uma tarefa solidária e não solitária e não se compadece com a unilateral imposição de vínculos restritivos a uns a favor dos outros. Era esta, de resto, a dimensão fundamental do clássico princípio da igualdade perante os encargos públicos.” Canotilho (1995).

Nabais (2004), pp. 573–588.

Ruling No. 581/2012, rendered by the Constitutional Court on 5/12/2012, Case No. 204/12, Judge Counsellor Pedro Machete.

Soares (2004), pp. 459–496.

de Andrade (2001), p. 380, note 24.

See, among others, Judgment No. 276/89 of 28/2/1989 and Judgment No. 359/91 of 9/7/1991, available at http://​www.​tribunalconstitu​cional.​pt/​tc/​acordaos/​.

In the sense of the attribution of a programmatic character to the relative reserve of the parliament on the general regime of financial contributions, see de Vasconcelos Fernandes (2019b), p. 127.

Case No. 233/2001, Relator Counsellor Messias Bento.

Judicial appeals for lack of economic and financial justification have been occurring, as can be seen, for example, in the judgments of the Supreme Administrative Court of 27/9/2017, in Case No. 479/16 and of 6/11/2019 in Case No. 01014/08.

Rapporteur: Counsellor Fonseca Carvalho.

“The contrast between legal equivalence and economic equivalence serves to distinguish two levels of analysis of commutative taxes, respecting the first notion at the level of conceptual delimitation and the second at the level of material legitimization of these taxes”. Our translation of: “A contraposição entre a equivalência jurídica e equivalência económica serve para distinguir dois planos de análise dos tributos comutativos, respeitando a primeira noção ao plano da delimitação conceitual e a segunda ao plano da legitimação material destes tributos.” Vasques (2008), pp. 344–348.

Among many others, Judgments No. 1140/96, 288/2010, Judge Counsellor Maria Fernanda Palma and Judge Counsellor Maria João Antunes, and Judgment No. 410/2000, Judge Counsellor Tavares da Costa.

The ruling of the Constitutional Court No. 365/2008, of 23/10/2007, in Case No. 22/2008, reported by Councillor João Cura Mariano, regarding the Regulation and Supervision Fee due to the Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC).

“Therefore, the solution involves balancing the risk of paralyzing Government activity, on the one hand, with the risk of proliferation, uncontrolled by Parliament, of hybrid taxes or imperfect synagmaticity, on the other. From this consideration it follows that financial contributions must be created by law of the Parliament, requiring that at this level some of their essential elements are already sufficiently addressed (…).” Our translation of: “Assim sendo, a solução passa por ponderar o risco de paralisação da atividade do Governo, por um lado, com o risco de proliferação, não controlada pelo Parlamento, de tributos híbridos ou de sinalagmaticidade imperfeita, por outro. Dessa ponderação deflui que as contribuições financeiras devem ser criadas por lei do Parlamento, exigindo-se que a este nível estejam já suficientemente recortados alguns dos seus elementos essenciais (…).”

Case No. 911/12, Judge Councillor João Cura Mariano.

Modified by Decree-Laws No. 243-A/2004, of 31 December, 230/2005, of 29 December, 72/2006, of 24 March, 154/2009, of 6 July, 30/2010, of 8 April, 93/2010, of 27 July, and 252/2012, of 26 November.

Article 1, paragraph 2 of Law No. 50/2006, of 29 August which approves the framework law on environmental administrative offences, “all illicit and censurable facts that fulfil a legal type corresponding to the violation of legal and regulatory provisions on the environment that consecrate rights or impose duties, for which a fine is imposed, constitute an environmental administrative offence.” Our translation of: “constitui contraordenação ambiental todo o facto ilícito e censurável que preencha um tipo legal correspondente à violação de disposições legais e regulamentares relativas ao ambiente que consagrem direitos ou imponham deveres, para o qual se comine uma coima”.

Dourado (1987). In this regard, the illustrious professor also refers to the inadmissibility in a state under the Rule of Law of the absence of a general regime of financial contributions and other extra fiscal contributions not requiring the reservation of law that applies to taxes “… given the similarity they have with taxes and the fact that the Constitutional Court does not establish material criteria for quantitative control to be charged: for example through the principle of equivalence if it is understood that there is a group signalman; but this is not the case in the excess emissions, even because art. 25, no. 4 of the Decree-Law does not establish that the Environment Institute must allocate the amounts collected to the compensation of carbon dioxide emissions.” Our translation of: “… dada a similitude que têm com os impostos e o facto de o Tribunal Constitucional não estabelecer critérios materiais de controlo quantitativo a cobrar: por exemplo através do princípio da equivalência, se se entender que há um sinalagma de grupo; mas não é o caso nas emissões excedentárias, até porque o art. 25.°, n.° 4 do Decreto-Lei não estabelece que o Instituto do Ambiente deva afetar os montantes cobrados à compensação das emissões de dióxido de carbono.”

Our translation of: “Enquanto no caso da sansão atípica seria recomendável a aprovação de um regime geral por meio de lei da A.R. ou de Decreto-Lei autorizado, à semelhança do que acontece quanto ao regime geral das contraordenações, no caso de um tributo extrafiscal, esse regime geral é exigido por lei.”

On the legal nature of this financial contribution, see Pina (2006), pp. 493–502.

Judgments No. 365/2008, 613/08, concerning the regulation and supervision fee (TRS) due to the Regulatory Authority for the Media (ERC) and Judgment No. 152/2013, concerning the radio spectrum usage fee.

Martins (2017), p. 37 ss.

The principle of separation and interdependence of powers (Article 2 and Article 111 of the CRP) is a fundamental principle of the democratic rule of law, in this sense, Miranda (2007), p. 50.

Constitutional Law No. 1/92, of November 25th.

Case No. 27/15, Judge Councillor João Cura Mariano and Carlos Fernandes Cadilha with dissenting vote.

Our translation of: “A inclusão na reserva de lei formal do regime geral das contribuições financeiras parece ter tido em vista garantir uma uniformização de critérios relativamente ao modo como deverão ser asseguradas as necessidades financeiras das entidades públicas e preservar a coerência e justiça do sistema tributário, tendo também em linha de conta os princípios da segurança jurídica e da justa repartição dos encargos públicos. Não terá sido propósito do legislador constituinte facultar incondicionalmente ao Governo a criação de contribuições financeiras públicas enquanto se mantenha uma situação de omissão legislativa em matéria de definição do regime geral…”

Our translation of: “Não pode ser assim, pois o que está unitariamente em causa, em ambos os segmentos da norma constitucional, é a projeção habilitante de um prévio controlo parlamentar sobre os atos concretos de tributação. O que muda é apenas a forma de realização e a intensidade, não o objetivo tutelador.

Deste modo, pretender que a persistência da omissão legislativa em editar o regime geral faculta a criação livre e incondicionada de contribuições financeiras, por meio de diploma governamental, subverte inteiramente o alcance garantístico que a reserva iniludivelmente possui.

Não ignoro que atribuir efeito inibitório à inércia da assembleia legislativa em promulgar o regime geral destes tributos pode, em certos domínios regulatórios, causar sérias dificuldades a um aparelho administrativo moderno e eficaz. Mas, por um lado, isso deve valer como um incentivo suplementar à atuação legislativa, em conformidade com a reserva, não podendo exclusivas razões pragmáticas sobrepor-se a claras determinações constitucionais.”

The preamble of Decree-Law No. 119/2012 of 15 June.

Nabais (2004), p. 622.

Case No. 141/16, Judge Councillor Catarina Sarmento e Castro.

Affirmation already made before; see among many regarding the analysis of the constitutionality of the “Food Safety Fee” Judgement No. 539/2015 of 20/10, available for consultation at www.​dgsi.​pt.

Among others, see Judgment No. 640/1995 of 15/11/1995.

In the recent Judgment No. 101/2023, of 16/3/2023, the Constitutional Court decided to declare unconstitutional, for violation of article 13 of the Constitution, article 2(d) of the EESC legal regime (approved by article 228 of Law No. 83-C/2013, of 31 December, whose validity was extended to 2018 by Law No. 114/2017, of 29 December), insofar as it determines that the tax is levied on the value of the asset elements referred to in paragraph 1 of article 3 of the same regime. Article 3(1) of the same regime, owned by legal persons that are part of the national energy sector, with tax domicile or with registered office, effective management or permanent establishment in Portuguese territory, which, on 1 January 2018, are concessionaires of the activities of transmission, distribution or underground storage of natural gas.

We held that, in its initial configuration, the EESC was intended not only to help solve the problem of the SEN tariff deficit, but mainly to finance energy sector policies of a social and environmental nature, regulatory actions and measures related to energy efficiency. However, from 2018 onwards, the largest share of the revenue was intended to reduce the tariff debt of the electricity sector, without it being clear why the legislator saw fit to require operators not integrated in this subsector to participate in the resulting charges, when they did not cause them, nor to extract a special benefit. It should be noted that the mere fact that all the operators are part of the ‘energy sector’ is clearly not sufficient to affirm that there is group liability of the natural gas subsector for the charges relating to a problem specific to the electricity subsector.

In this regard, Lobo (2019), p. 421 ss; Dourado (2019).

Lobo (2019), p. 421 ss; Dourado (2019).

de Vasconcelos Fernandes (2019a).

Nabais (2003b). Our translation of: “apresentam a particularidade de terem por base manifestações de capacidade contributiva de determinados grupos de pessoas resultantes do exercício de uma atividade administrativa pública e não, ou não exclusivamente, do exercício de uma atividade do respetivo contribuinte como acontece nos impostos”.

Our translation of: “É, pois, uma situação geral, individualizável e anormal, que justifica a imposição de uma prestação tributária. A situação individual é ocasional e diretamente – não é intendiretamenteectamente conexa com os fins da actividade estadual que lhe dá origem”. Nabais (2003b), pp. 27–30.

Case No. 9/84, Judge Councillor Nunes de Almeida.

On the case law analysis of these improvement contributions, see, among others, Constitutional Court Decision 63/2006, of 24/1/2006, in Case No. 392/2005, Reporting Judge Counsellor Maria Helena Brito, defeated vote Counsellor Judge Carlos Pamplona de Oliveira.

de Vasconcelos Fernandes (2020), pp. 74–77 e 92–93.

Vasques (2018), p. 268.

Although Article 104 of the Portuguese Constitution states that consumption taxation aims to assess a certain taxable income “luxury consumption”, this will certainly not be the present and future objective of consumption taxation considering Article 113 of the TFEU of which Council Directive No. 2008/118/EC of 16/12/2008 is an expression.

Despite the reference to extra-fiscal purposes, for Dourado (2020): “…excise duties are taxes in the strict sense, as they are allocated to the State budget and are not consigned to environmental or health purposes. In other words, there is always a tax purpose - that is the collection of revenue - even if such purpose is secondary and the predominating objectives are those of behavioral orientation (decrease in the consumption of such products, either because they are harmful to the environment or health)”. Our translation.

Vasques (2018).

da Silva (2013), p. 86.

Vasques (2008), p. 46.

Case No. 57/03, Rapporteur, Councillor Judge Benjamim Rodrigues.

Our translation of: “…Tal excessiva amplitude do intervalo do espaço de fixação da taxa, deixado à livre intervenção regulamentar – entre margens que poderão facilmente chegar a 100% de variação (…). Por outro lado, parece-me evidente que, nesta matéria, em que estão em causa um princípio e normas de competência verdadeiramente estruturantes – e num tema que, como se sabe, está, aliás, na origem do parlamentarismo –, não cabe de todo invocar, a favor da conformidade constitucional da fixação da taxa do imposto por regulamento, qualquer “aplicabilidade dos princípios gerais de necessidade, de adequação e de proporcionalidade” das leis restritivas dos direitos fundamentais. (…)”

Case No. 400/09, Reporting Judge Counsellor Joaquim de Sousa Ribeiro.

Code of Excise Duties.

Nabais (2019).

Case No. 120/92, of 11/11/1992, Reporting Judge Counsellor António Vitorino.

In the same sense, the ruling of the Constitutional Court No. 606/95 of 8/11, in Case No. 258/94, Reporting Judge Counsellor Guilherme da Fonseca.

Cfr. Cardoso da Costa (1972), p. 309.

Nabais (2003b), p. 138.

Dourado (2020), p. 158.

In Case No. 516/15, Rapporteur: Judge Councillor Joaquim Condesso.

Case No. 0140/15, Rapporteur: Judge Councillor Dulce Neto.

Subsequently, in a path that dissented from the use of taxation as an environmental instrument, namely regarding the incentive to the production of renewable energy, Law No. 7-A/2016, of 30 March, introduced amendments to the CIMI, specifically in Article 38 in which the general rule for determining the taxable asset value of urban properties is established as “the additional land cost method” provided in Article 46(2) of the CIMI. Ministerial Order No. 11/2017, of 9 January, defined the typology of urban buildings to which the method provided in Article 46(2) of the CIMI would be applicable in which wind energy-producing centers and wind farms are included. This is a rare revenue tax measure that may lead to double taxation since there is already a municipal tax levied on income from the operation of wind farms that generates double, unequal, and disproportionate taxation in breach of the constitutional provisions contained in Articles 103(2) and 104(3) of the Portuguese Constitution.

Constitutional Court Ruling No. 84/2003 of 12 February; Nabais (2004), p. 445 ss.

Soares (2002).

Soares (2002), p. 14; “Taxes with a general revenue-raising purpose, i.e., which are intended to raise revenue for the State to apply indiscriminately to the performance of any of its functions, even if they are levied on unsustainable goods or behaviour, cannot be called environmental. Their presentation as such can only be aimed at seeking political support for their collection by deceiving the citizen.” Our translation of: “Impostos com um intuito recaudatório de âmbito geral, isto é que se destinam a obter receitas para o Estado aplicar, indiferenciadamente, na realização de qualquer uma das suas funções, ainda que incidam sobre bens ou comportamentos insustentáveis, não podem ser denominados de ambientais. A sua apresentação como tal só pode ter como objetivo a busca de um apoio politico para a sua cobrança através do engano do cidadão.”

Azevedo (2010), pp. 85–128.

Nabais (2004), pp. 266, 267.

An example of a tax with this effect is found in Article 30 of Law No. 82-D/2014 of 31/12, the contribution on lightweight plastic bags by the definition of packaging in Directive No. 94/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December.

A good example of a tax that shapes behaviour and, at the same time, provides a source of revenue for environmental protection is the carbon tax that has been in place since 1992 in Denmark. It is levied indiscriminately on the state and on companies based on the amount of fuel and electricity consumed, and the tax revenue has been used to subsidize industries to adapt to green technologies and renewable energies; see Martinzes (2015).

Without excluding the threat of regressivity given the fact that eco-taxes are predominantly indirect taxes.

The transversal nature of law requires the application of methodologies outside law for its improvement, with economic-behavioural analysis being an added value in the behavioural reflexes of a certain normative for the design and implementation of policies. In this sense, Saraiva (2011a), pp. 105–118.

About the functions attributed to municipal funds for environmental sustainability by the Basic Law of Territorial Land Policy and Urbanism (Law No. 31/2014, of 30 May - LBPSOTU) See Gomes et al. (2017), pp. 117–143.

Dourado (2020), pp. 48, 49–79; Vasques (2008), pp. 620–647.

Constitutional Court rulings No. 539/2015 of 20/10, No. 7/2019 of 8/1; No. 452/87 of 9/12/1987.

The principle of non-consignment of tax revenue is contained in the State Budget Framework Law, currently, Law No. 151/2015 of 11 September which, in its Article 16, establishes the principle of non-consignment in relative terms with different exceptions.

Available for consultation at https://​www.​tcontas.​pt/​pt-pt/​ProdutosTC/​Relatorios/​RelatoriosAudito​ria/​Documents/​2017/​rel003-2017-2s.​pdf.

Our translation of: “…só não estamos perante impostos (receitas unilaterais para cobrir despesas gerais) desde que os montantes cobrados sejam afetos à compensação dos prejuízos causados pela rigidez dos comportamentos que se pretende orientar.” Dourado (2020).

On the question of whether and how the legal process of monitoring the outcome of corrective taxes can and should be improved, see Hey (2020), pp. 360–368.

In this sense, Soares (2004), pp. 459–496.

Law No. 82-D/2014 of 31/12, called the Green Taxation Reform, provides several examples of tax measures with environmental purposes introduced in taxes on income and wealth; see Article 40 of the CIRC, article 88 of the CIRC, in VAT, article 21(2)(f), (g) and (h) of the CIVA, in the IMI benefited buildings with greater energy efficiency.

On the relation between efficiency and the incidence base of the ecological tax, see Soares (2002), pp. 22–31.

In this sense, the Judgments of TC No. 236/86, in Case No. 56/85, Judge Councillor Raul Mateus; Judgment No. 141/85, Case No. 86/83 and 47/84, Judge Councillor Jorge Campino.