The principle of proportionality requires that measures adopted by a public body do not exceed what is adequate and necessary in order to attain the objectives legitimately pursued by the legislation in question. Hence, when there is a choice between several appropriate measures, recourse must be had to the measure least onerous for its addressee. Notwithstanding the fact that the subject guarantee represents a general principle of law, it has various forms depending of the area of the legal system where it is applied. Therefore, the application of the proportionality principle in the area of taxation raises several controversies. A good example of the subject dilemmas can be found in the case practice of the Constitutional Court of Montenegro (Constitutional Court) which relies in essence on doctrines articulated in the case practice of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In my opinion, the article will show that the Constitutional Court does not understand properly the application of the principle of proportionality related to the concept of “excessive burden” in the area of taxation and has issues in formulating the entire practice regarding this subject.

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