TAXATION: THE MORALITY OF IT ALL

Paying taxes is one thing that people most commonly complain about. In the time of Jesus, this was also the case. Given the nature and type of society we live in and the demands we make upon our governments, then taxation is here to stay. Government bashing is common everywhere. Nearly everyone has something to say in the way their government is failing to deliver what they think it should provide to its citizens. Most of the time it boils down to complaining about how much tax one has to pay and the perception that the return is somehow lacking.

Jesus does not condemn the practice of paying taxes. In Romans 13, Paul tells us to be good citizens of our countries, obedient in all things, provided that the state is not asking us to do anything immoral. It seems to me that we will be left with the logical conclusion that as far as the Scriptures are concerned, we should pay our taxes. Why? The answer is simple: If we do not pay our taxes, the services that the government provides will cease. Without taxes, the government would not be able to provide the service by which we get a passport and we therefore could not travel abroad. This would be more than just a minor inconvenience in a country where something like 40 percent of the GNP comes from the remittance of wages of foreign workers. The road system upon which we drive and travel would fall into disrepair, and so on.

We have a moral responsibility to help the government provide these services. We would be among the first to complain if they no longer exist. The government also has a moral responsibility to give a proper accounting of how the taxes are spent. The judgment of God will lie heavily upon those who participate incorruption, especially endemic corruption, because it is theft, a mortal sin that deprives a person of the possibility of gaining eternal life. Fr. Steve Tynan, MGL

 

Reflection Question:

Do I pay my taxes promptly and fairly? If in government, do I use the money of the people for their good or my own?

 

Father in Heaven, Your generosity to me has known no bounds in terms of the gift of salvation. Help me to give generously in return, including doing my duty in paying tax.

 

St. Rhian, pray for us.