Taxation – The Law of God and Public Policy: The Economy (14)

Taxation

The Law of God and Public Policy: The Economy (14)

We must pay the taxes which are due, but we must work for just taxation.

“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 of public officials. Priests and Levites were to be supported by the tithe of the people in their communities. But it is not specified how the elders, judges, and local rulers—even the king—were to be supported. Presumably, these people, being property owners like everyone else, except the priests and Levites, would have been working their land and realizing 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 served to warn the people of Israel against revenue schemes that might foster just such problems (Deut. 17:16, 17).

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, it’s not too much to look at the example of the tithe as a way of thinking about the logic for tax policies. Graduated tax rates in this country have become the means for creating an 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. 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, so it would be under a flat-rate income tax system. The wealthy would pay more, but not more, proportionately, than anyone else.

Tax policies in America today are unjust and corrupt. They serve primarily the interests of those who hold political power and who make dependents of those who pay little or no taxes—the vast 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.

Subscribe to Crosfigell, the devotional newsletter of The Fellowship of Ailbe. Sent to your desktop every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, Crosfigell includes a devotional based on the literature of the Celtic Christian period and the Word of God, highlights of other columns at the website, and information about mentoring and online courses available through The Fellowship.

–

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.