Toward an Integrated Methodology of Tax Systems: Between Legal Formalism and Economic Realism

Abstract

This article examines the scientific methodology applicable to the study of tax systems, arguing for an integrated approach combining legal and economic methodologies. Through a review of major methodological traditions - classical, modern, Marxist, and axiomatic-deductive - it demonstrates that no single framework is sufficient to fully explain tax phenomena. Given the complexity of tax systems as normative constructs embedded in dynamic social contexts, the study highlights the need to reconcile legal formalism with economic realism. It shows that knowledge in this field is inherently provisional and conditioned by historical, social, and institutional factors. Accordingly, the article advocates a plural, critical, and interdisciplinary methodology that balances theoretical abstraction with empirical validation, avoiding both excessive formalism and technocratic reductionism. It further argues that, although essential, economic science cannot replace law in determining standards of tax justice. Ultimately, the development of effective tax systems depends on achieving a balance between efficiency, equity, and freedom within an open and adaptable methodological framework suited to contemporary challenges.