Constitutional Norms in French Tax Law

Abstract

In France, a Constitutional Tax Law has been built from the activity of the Constitutional Council, during the last decades. The French Constitution does not offer an exhaustive statute of tax regulations, however the activity of this judicial body has allowed the development of a constitutional doctrine in the tax field, making use of the constitutional preamble. This paper seeks, first of all, to explain the scope of these different principles (equality, freedom rights, right to private life, right to legal defense, etc.) and their impact on tax reforms, both in terms of It refers to the substantive rules that govern the calculation of the tax, as well as the rules of tax procedure. Secondly, it tries to present the different ways in which, in France, tax provisions can be submitted to the control of the constitutional judge, and the scope of the decisions that he is called upon to issue.