Personal Information:
José Rafael Belisario Rincón has been a Consultant at Tinoco, Travieso, Planchart & Núñez since 2023. He is a specialist in Tax Law, with more than three decades of experience advising companies and trade associations on all aspects of the Venezuelan tax system. His practice includes tax planning, compliance with formal obligations, impact analysis of commercial transactions, and advice on national, state, and municipal taxes, as well as representing taxpayers in tax audits and litigation proceedings. He has been recognized by Chambers Latin America in the area of Tax Law.
He has worked as an attorney at Pérez Mena & Everts (Ernst & Young) from 1987 to 1990, at Espiñeira, Sheldon & Asociados (PwC) from 1991 to 1992, and at Mathison, Lupini, Ruan & Asociados from 1992 to 1994. He led the tax litigation department at Rodríguez & Mendoza from 1994 to 1999 and later served as the partner responsible for tax and customs matters at Benson, Pérez Matos, Antakly & Watts from 1999 to 2012. Between 2012 and 2023, he practiced independently, focusing on tax and customs advisory and litigation.
Education:
• Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Law Degree, 1988.
• Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Specialization in Financial Law, 1996.
• Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Diploma in International Tax Law, 2023
Academic activities:
• Professor of “Tax Litigation” and “Assessment of Tax Liability” in Off-Campus Graduate Programs, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, 1996–1999.
• Professor of “Constitutional Foundations and Limits of Taxation” in Off-Campus Graduate Programs, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, 1996–1999.
• Professor of “Wealth Taxation (Business Assets Tax”) in the Postgraduate Program in Tax Law, Universidad Central de Venezuela, 1996–1997.
• Guest Professor of “Income Tax II”, Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín, 1997.
• Professor of “Direct Taxation” and “Tax Litigation” in the Master's Program in Tax Management, Universidad Rafael Belloso Chacín, 1997–2001.
• Professor of “Constitutional Foundations of the Venezuelan Tax System” in the Postgraduate Program in Tax Law, Universidad Central de Venezuela, 1999–2024.
• Professor of “Practical Vision of Professional Practice and New Trends” in the Master's Program in Tax Management, Universidad Metropolitana, 2000–2005.
• Professor of “Direct Taxation I” and “Direct Taxation II” in the Postgraduate Program in Tax Law, Universidad Central de Venezuela, 2014–2019.
• Professor of “Municipal Taxation” in the Postgraduate Program in Tax Law, Universidad Central de Venezuela, since 2023.
Judicial activities:
Activities:
• Member of the Advisory Council of the Development Corporation for the Zulia Region (Corpozulia), 1994–1995.
• Member of the Municipal Affairs Commission of the Maracaibo Chamber of Commerce, 1995–1999.
• Member of the Venezuelan Association of Tax Law (AVDT), since 1996. Director, 2000–2011. Representative before the National Assembly during the discussions on the Organic Tax Code reform, 2001. Vice President of the Board of Directors, 2007–2011. Coordinator of the Procedural Committee, 2022–2023.
• Member of the Latin American Institute of Tax Law (ILADT), since 1996. Alternate Board Member for Venezuela, 2008–2012.
• Member of the Advisory Committee of Fedecámaras during the drafting of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela before the National Constituent Assembly, 1999.
• Advisor to the Venezuelan Banking Association during the drafting of the Bank Debit Tax Law, its General Regulation, and its Resolution on the transfer of securities, 1999.
• Member of the Tax Committee of the Venezuelan-American Chamber of Industry and Commerce (VENAMCHAM), since 2000. Committee President, 2012–2014.
• Arbitrator of the Arbitration Chamber of the Maracaibo Chamber of Commerce.
Publications:
• "Commentary on the Regulations to the Business Assets Tax Law," in Balanza Journal, March 1995.
• "Unconstitutionality of the Luxury Consumption and Wholesale Sales Tax Law," in Balanza Journal, November 1995.
• "Tax Avoidance, Evasion, and Fraud" (co-author), in Tax Law Journal No. 69, 1995.
• "Tax Regime of Financial Leasing under the LICSUM," in Balanza Journal, January 1996.
• "The Unconstitutionality of Monetary Restatement" (co-author), in Tax Law Journal No. 77, 1997.
• "Municipal Taxation and the Oil Opening. The Case of Transient Taxpayers in Oil Services," in IV Venezuelan Conference on Tax Law, Livrosca, Caracas, 1998.
• "The Taxing Power of Municipalities and the Regulatory Powers of the National Government in the National Constitutions of 1961 and 1999, A Jurisprudential and Doctrinal Study" (paper presented at the V Venezuelan Conference on Tax Law, 2000).
• "The New Constitutional Regime of Venezuelan Municipal Taxation of 1999 and the Jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Justice" (paper presented at the VI Venezuelan Conference on Tax Law, 2002).
• Tax Benefits in Venezuelan Income Tax. 40 Years of Income Tax in Venezuela, a collective work of the Venezuelan Association of Tax Law, coordinated by Dr. Jesús Sol Gil, Editorial Torino, Caracas, 2002.
• Summary of Jurisprudence on Value Added Tax, Value Added Taxation, a collective work of the Venezuelan Association of Tax Law, coordinated by Dr. Jesús Sol Gil, Editorial Torino, Caracas, 2004.
• "Tax Disobedience as a Right and Guarantee of Taxpayers against the Tax Administration," in Proceedings of the VII National Conference on Tax Law, Caracas, 2004.
• "The Principle of Contributive Capacity in Simplified Taxation Regimes. Technical Communication," Theme II "Tax Principles Facing New Forms of Income Taxation," in Proceedings of the XXIV Latin American Conference on Tax Law , Margarita, 2008.
• "The Evolution and De-characterization of the Principle of Legality in Venezuelan Tax Law," in Model Code of Organic Tax Law for Latin America, Jurisprudence Text Collection, Colombian Institute of Tax Law, 2009.
• "The Principle of Normative Hierarchy in Venezuelan Tax Law," in Primacy of the Tax Principles Enshrined in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Tribute Book to Dr. Armando Chumaceiro, Los Ángeles Publishing House, Caracas, 2010.
• "The Principle of Tax Legality. Critical analysis of the unconstitutionality of certain tax norms and a judgment of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice," in Proceedings of the XI Venezuelan Conference on Tax Law, Volume I, 2012.
• "The Second Recognition in Customs, its legal value. Critical analysis of the admissibility of the second recognition in customs and the violation of law implied by its denial by the Customs Tax Administration," in Tax Law Developments in Venezuela, Tribute Book to Dr. Adriana Vigilanza, 2013.
• "The Constitutional Principles that Serve as the Basis for the Venezuelan Tax System," in Venezuelan Tax Law Manual, Venezuelan Association of Tax Law, 2013.
• "The Collection Powers of the Tax Administration vs. The Constitutional Principle of Equality. Critical analysis of tax legislation and the Doctrine of the Political-Administrative Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice," in Proceedings of the XIII Venezuelan Conference on Tax Law, Volume I, 2014.
• "Executive Collection in the new Organic Tax Code of 2015. The Severe Crisis of the Principle of Legality in Venezuela. Based on the article 'Is the Principle of Legality in Venezuela in Crisis?' by Professor Gabriel Ruan”, in Liber Amicorum in Tribute to Gabriel Ruan Santos, Venezuelan Association of Tax Law, 2018.
• "The Oil Industry in Venezuela and Municipal Taxation," in Contemporary Tax Law: Tribute Book for the 50th Anniversary of the Venezuelan Association of Tax Law, 2019.
• "Powers in Matters of Public Income and Expenditures at Various Levels of Government, A Historical Analysis of the Venezuelan Constitutional Regime of the 19th and 20th Centuries," Venezuela National Paper presented at the XXX Latin American Tax Law Conference of the Latin American Institute of Tax Law (ILADT), Volume 1, Montevideo, Uruguay, 2019.
• "The Presumption of Legitimacy of the Administrative Act vs. The Constitutional Presumption of Innocence," in Tribute Book to Dr. Alberto Blanco Uribe, Contributions to the Development of Tax Procedural Law in Venezuela, Venezuelan Association of Tax Law, 2022.
• "Principle of Contributive Capacity. Pathologies of the Venezuelan Tax System,” in Tribute Book to Dr. Humberto Romero Muci, Volume II, Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 2023.
Languages:
Spanish and English