The issue of the distribution of fiscal burdens in the thought of Giacomo Matteotti: a lesson for the future

It is necessary to remember a hero of Italian history like Giacomo Matteotti – and his sacrifice in the name of justice and democracy – for many important reasons. The memory of the politician and his execrable assassination risk obscuring his valuable qualities as a scholar of economics and public finance, as well as a jurist specialist in criminal law and procedure, but the contribution he offered to the debate on taxation and role that it should play in a democratic country cannot go unnoticed. His vision of the many issues he dealt with, but in particular about the issue of the distribution of fiscal burdens, to which he dedicated “constant and tireless attention”, is a very modern and cutting-edge vision, being based on the twentieth-century model of a social and interventionist State, redistributive and provider of social services - inspired in its action by the principles of equality, solidarity and dignity of the person - and, at the same time, precursor of the communist and Christian-democratic conception of taxation as an instrument of social justice and income redistribution. In this paper we will analyze this vision of the State and the relationship between the taxpayer and the financial administration, trying to draw a lesson for our legislators and policy makers.