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Fair Tax in the Bible?
Posted on September 23rd, 2009 in From the Word by Fred McKinnon
14 Everyone who is numbered in the census, from twenty years old and upward, shall give the Lord’s offering.15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, when you give the Lord’s offering to make atonement for your lives.
(Exodus 30:14-15, ESV, YouVersion.Com)
I couldn’t help but think about the big “fair tax” debate these days when I read this.
What if our “taxes” we paid to our government was like an “offering” to our country …. and this principle applied. A fair, fixed, flat-rate, set amount … the rich aren’t required to give more, the poor aren’t asked to give less … everybody pays the same amount …
I certainly don’t want a nasty debate on my blog, but I am definitely curious … why was it that God used that standard during the census and the atonement offering?
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14 Responses to “Fair Tax in the Bible?”
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I’m with you, Fred. If we started looking at what we give to the government as sowing, we would look to the reaping. We would want what we’ve sown to bear fruit. I believe a percentage is Biblical…now we also know that the government doesn’t always act Biblical.
Ben, I love that analogy of sowing and reaping. Of course, it’s hard to think of it as sowing when it’s not a free-will donation. Hmm.
Even though it isn’t “free-will” you can still have the same attitude, I think. Sowing and reaping is Kingdom and transcends what we are required to do by a government.
BTW, I check the “notify me of new comments” and it doesn’t notify…just thought you should know!
Ben, odd .. it should – have you checked your junk mail folder?
Yeah, nothing…It happened last time I commented as well. No big deal, I just thought you would want to know and see if others are having the same problem.
Ah, but but the Lord’s instructions to Moses were the opposite of a flat tax. The Lord instructed everyone was to pay a half shekel, rich or poor.
The analogy would be for the government to say “Everyone pays ten thousand dollars tax, no matter who you are.” Obviously, this would be a huge burden on someone living below the poverty line, and a night out on the town for someone wealthy. (the point of the Census Tax being, of course, everyone’s sins are the same in the eyes of God)
So given this example, the idea of a flat tax (which I support, BTW) would be decidedly unbiblical.
I prefer the example of the poor widow in Mark 12: each according to his ability.
Mike, yep, you are correct – I knew that as I published … realizing that:
1 – it wasn’t exactly the same as “fair tax” and
2 – it wasn’t a “tax” at all
I suppose I was thinking not so much about the fact that it was a half-shekel … but that a designated amount (in our case, could it be a percentage?) was specified, and all were required to meet it.
Let’s not forget Luke 20: 20-26 in this though…
Fact is, none of us, regardless of nation, are living in a country that is based solely on Kingdom principles…which was the basis for OT Israel.
It would be great to live in a country where God’s economy was the only economy though huh
David, true … but that passage is about whether or not we SHOULD even be paying our taxes – it’s about submission to authority, and the laws of the land …
True, also, that no country abides totally by Kingdom principles. But there will be a day … amen?
Of course, Jesus taught us to pray “Thy Kingdom come, here on earth, as it is in heaven”.
We, ambassadors of that Kingdom … we should be more proactive in bringing forth HIS Kingdom principles here on the earth, right?
Definitely Fred.
NO WONDER Steve Forbes “found religion” in 1999. Here’s a quote from Steve:
“It was people of faith who founded this country. George Washington said that ‘It is impossible to account for the creation of the universe without a Supreme Being. And it is impossible to govern … without the aide of a Supreme Being.’”
New blog post: Fair Tax in the Bible? http://bit.ly/2ey8Q
I like the scriptural reference, Fred. What I think about is somewhat similar, and something a few christian “politicians” have alluded to in the past:
What about a “year of Jubilee”? Talk about wiping out the deficit? What if on an undisclosed date (for those who would abuse this) everyone who had a debt – homeownwers, car owners, patients, doctors, school loaners, banks, etc – was declared “debt free”.
No one would owe anyone. Everyone would have a clean slate. No one would lose. We, as a nation, would still owe foreign countries, but how quick could we pay that back with our income tax – possibly the flat/fair tax you’re discussing?
I am not sure what a half shekel would equal in today’s dollars, but I certainly like the principle that everyone pays something and that there is a limit on how much any person would have to pay.
Taxing income is a terrible idea. Basic economics, if you want more of something subsidize it, if you want less of something tax it.