From Emergency Taxation to Fiscal Soundness: Strategies for Rebuilding the Venezuelan Tax System Under International Pressure

Abstract

This paper analyzes the metamorphosis of the Venezuelan tax system, which has transitioned from a historical dependence on oil rent toward a “fiscal emergency” framework characterized by prolonged exceptionalism and the pressure of unilateral coercive measures. Through a technical and comparative study, specifically examining the experiences of Panama and Puerto Rico, the research explores how the proliferation of transactional taxes, such as the Large Financial Transactions Tax; parafiscal contributions, such as the Pension Protection Tax; and administrative discretion in the classification of taxpayers, have eroded the principles of the rule of law and the taxpayer’s ability to pay. This process has resulted in the exhaustion of the immediate revenue-collection model. The study posits that the current crisis presents an opportunity for “fiscal soundness” based on the reconstruction of institutional legitimacy, transparency, and tax morale. It proposes, as a final phase, a Tax Remission Law to restore the social-fiscal contract and ensure the system’s sustainability in the medium to long term.