First Conflict Between State Institutions: The Constitutional Court Resolves Dispute Over Inheritance and Gift Tax Repeal Bill

The Constitutional Court is set to resolve a conflict between the Government and the Senate regarding the inheritance and gift tax. The court of guarantees admitted to processing the Executive’s challenge against the Senate Bureau’s agreement to process a bill that repeals the legislation related to the tax. This decision marks the first conflict between state institutions that the Constitutional Court will resolve in this legislature.

The Government relies on Article 134.6 of the Constitution in its challenge, which states that proposals or amendments leading to a decrease in budgetary income require the Government’s consent for processing. The Senate Board did not obtain this consent. Following a Council of Ministers meeting on December 19, the Minister of the Presidency and Justice warned that the Senate needed to halt the bill’s processing, which aimed to eliminate the inheritance tax nationally. The Government argues that its consent is essential for any regulation resulting in a decrease in budgetary income as outlined in the Constitution.

The Ministry of Finance’s report indicated that eliminating the tax would result in significant revenue losses, particularly for autonomous communities where it is transferred but not often applied. However, despite these objections from both parties, including an appeal from several autonomous communities opposing its repeal, the Senate decided to maintain