Economics 101: Taxation – The Law of God and Public Policy

Economics 101: Taxation
The Law of God and Public Policy

Governments have the right to tax those they serve.

“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD’s; it is holy to the LORD.” Leviticus 27:30

The Law of God is silent concerning remuneration for public officials. Priests and Levites were to be supported by the tithe of the people in their communities, but this was because they did not own any real property. The fields provided for them were attached to the cities where they lived, but these were intended only as a partial means of their support.

But the Law does not specify how the elders, judges, and local rulers—even the king—were to be supported.

Presumably, these people, the civil magistrates of ancient Israel, being property owners like everyone else, except the priests and Levites, would have worked their land and realized their provision from the stewardship of their property. This is perhaps the idea behind Solomon’s comment that a nation is blessed and happy when its rulers work on the land (Eccl. 5:9). Moses’ warning against the tendency of civil magistrates to accumulate wealth would have put the people of Israel on notice against revenue schemes that might foster just such problems (Deut. 17:16, 17).

In addition, if 1 Kings 10 can be taken in anything like a normative sense, governments and the services they provided may have been funded, if only in part, by tribute from subject nations. Those nations, in turn, enjoyed certain benefits from the kings in Jerusalem.

At the same time, both Jesus and Paul affirmed the right of States to levy taxes upon the people they served as agents of good (Matt. 22.21; Rom. 13:1-7). As States expanded and became more complex, and more services were required to support the needs of the governed, taxation became a logical and not unreasonable means of providing the revenue such services require.

However, we may gain some insight into God’s mind on this matter looking at the example of the tithe as a way of thinking about the logic for tax policies. In ancient Israel the tithe was a uniform rate for all people, regardless of income, social standing, or need. Everyone was expected to bring a tenth of his wealth—much of this in the form of property (animals)—to be administered by priests and Levites for the upkeep of the spiritual life of the nation.

Graduated tax rates in this country have become the means for creating an ever-expanding central government and entitlement society in which nearly half the population pay no income taxes at all and, thus, receive many services from the State at the expense of those who do pay taxes. (As an aside, it’s interesting to note that one of the early arguments for a graduated income tax appeared not in The Federalist Papers but in The Communist Manifesto.) It’s not difficult to see how such a system of taxation can be used to curry favor and purchase political power.

In a flat-rate tax system, the wealthy would pay more, but not proportionately so. All those who benefit from the services of the State would pay a share appropriate to their income. As in ancient Israel, where the wealthy would have paid more in tithes, but all were expected to tithe at the same rate (even if their “income” was only derived from gleaning and other services provided for the poor), so it would be under a flat-rate income tax system. The wealthy would pay more, but not more, proportionately, than anyone else.

The argument that this would not provide enough revenue to support the federal government in its present form is persuasive, not for a graduated income tax, but for a smaller central government—one that can live within the limits of its available resources.

Tax policies in America today are unjust and corrupt. Recent revelations concerning IRS intrusion into the political process are but an illustration of larger ways taxes serve the interests of the power-class. Needless to say, the expansion of IRS authority into the realm of health care is likely to bring more such problems. Tax policies today serve primarily the interests of those who hold political power and who make dependents of those who pay little or no taxes—presently, the majority of the population—at the expense of those who pay more.

All such policies should be opposed by those who seek an economics of justice rather than of material prosperity.

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and study the question for yourself.

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In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T. M. Moore, editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001, 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.