It’s April 15th, 2011.
I thought I’d throw out this question since many of us have been going nuts trying to fill out our income tax forms by today’s deadline.
Is this worrisome activity with comply with “moral”?
Whatever you conclude, I’m not saying to stop paying these taxes. Jesus and the apostles told us to render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to pay taxes.
But for the sake of future “reform” proposals, it’s worth asking… what might be a moral tax system to impose?
Though I diligently pay my income taxes, I have concluded they are fundamentally immoral.
I have likewise concluded that scripture gives us an abiding principle for a moral and just tax (I’m not discussing here how taxes should be SPENT, but how they should be collected.)
Here are my conclusions and a link that I believe explains what we should do in an ideal situation.
Suffice it to say our current “income tax” scheme is intrinsically unjust because it taxes individuals and businesses on entirely different principles. Businesses are taxed on “profits” after all necessary maintenance expenses including the deduction of other taxes paid, all operating expences, depreciation, etc. On that basis, no individual would ever pay an income tax because “profit” cannot by definition be determined until death. Until that point, all revenues are being used for maintenance and upkeep of the “individual = business”. Any year end “savings” that might be taxed as evidence of “profit” are, to use a business term, simply a fund against future expenses and not a genuine profit at all.
Think this is nuts? Could be. I may be crazy. It’s April 15th though. We’re all at least a little bit crazy today!
