Policies that contradict timeless truths expressed in the Bible simply don’t work. Confiscatory rates of taxation and punitive inheritance taxes fly in the face of wisdom contained in ancient texts revered by tens of millions of Jews and Christians.
These texts are relevant today because ideologies which the Bible frowns upon inevitably turn out to be poor public policy. For example, when the Good Book labels promiscuity as a sin, believers understand that God is not only indicating His displeasure at this behavior, He is assuring us that no societal good will come of it. The Bible offers insights into destructive taxation policies that prove equally true.
The first Biblical mention of taxation comes in Genesis 41. Bewildered by disturbing dreams, Pharaoh unsuccessfully seeks explanations from his courtiers. Finally his butler, newly released from jail, remembers his cell-mate, the Hebrew lad, Joseph. Joseph interprets the king’s dreams to be God’s forewarning of seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of famine. In verse 34, Joseph recommends applying a tax upon the Egyptian economy.
Let Pharaoh appoint officers over the land and collect up a fifth part
during the seven years of plenty.
He very specifically suggests a figure of one-fifth —or 20%—as the total tax on the country’s gross domestic product.
Although he was an outsider to Pharaoh’s court, brought out from jail, his counsel was acceptable not only to Pharaoh, but even more surprisingly: “…the thing was good in the eyes of all his servants” (verse 37). That a Jewish outsider’s recommendation to tax an entire country should please the monarch stretches credibility. That his subjects also found the recommendation pleasing can mean only one thing: The tax rate they were anticipating, reports Talmudic tradition, was considerably higher than Joseph’s twenty percent. Not only were they relieved, but the thought of being able to retain eighty percent of the fruits of their labors threw them into their work with renewed enthusiasm and energy. This tax plan invigorated the Egyptians and, as one would expect, their economy thrived. Verse 47 confirms that, “The earth brought forth by heaps.”
This Biblical perspective conforms almost precisely to the famous Crandall-Pierce “High Rates, Low Rates—Same Yield” graph which shows that Americans are willing to yield up to twenty percent of their aggregate labors for the common good. Few plead for zero taxation, but neither do they welcome thirty, forty or fifty percent rates either. Certain things seem instinctually built into us.
George Bernard Shaw once observed that even generous men are unwilling to share their wives. That has not changed since Shaw wrote that over a hundred years ago. Similarly the fact that even generous men are unwilling to share more than twenty percent of their income is no stain on their characters. The Crandall-Pierce graph confirms that the human soul rebels at taxation above twenty percent. On tax rates, as on so many other issues, Scripture does not proscribe as much as it describes the immutable laws of human affairs.
Jewish law derives the limits of the king’s right to tax from the prophet Samuel’s dire warning of what will befall Israel should they persist in their perverse desire for a king.
And he (this king you want) will take one-tenth of your seed and of your vineyards….he will take a tenth of your sheep and you will become his servants…and you shall cry out on that day because of the king that you have chosen—and the Lord will not hear you.
(I Samuel 8)
Evidently, even Samuel could not envision a legitimate king claiming more than ten percent of his own people’s produce.
The death tax, the inheritance tax so beloved of politicians, also inflicts damage on our economic productivity. It demonizes every penny a son receives from his late father’s estate.
The children of Israel shall enjoy, each man,
the inheritance of his fathers.
The death tax contradicts the enduring importance of linking together consecutive generations. Much of what is achieved by our system of ethical capitalism depends on entrepreneurs continuing to build upon the foundations constructed by their parents. It is also true that people will invent, labor and create tirelessly if they know that in so doing, they are bettering the lives of their children and their grandchildren. Men and women legitimately seek immortality through their children, which is why the Bible devotes so much space to the complexities of inheritance law.
Thou shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them.
This is to stress that nobody other than a man’s heirs are entitled to his possessions after his death. The notion that a king or a government should become the heir to all men is quite at odds with the Biblical vision and weakens the economic link between parents and children. This contributes to social as well as fiscal havoc in our society.
The final word on taxation in the Hebrew Scriptures is found in the book of Proverbs 12:24 which declares that:
The hands of the diligent shall produce wealth
but the lazy will be subject to taxation.
Ancient Jewish wisdom explains these words as a warning that excessive taxation only comes to pass through the laziness and indifference of productive citizens who decline to resist the oppression. As the prophet Samuel warned, if we fail to exert the necessary vigilance and energy to resist the government’s instinct to tax, we shall only have ourselves to blame for the sad consequences.
Just as it is incumbent on people to recognize that resisting taxation can reflect a moral stand, similarly we must recognize that earning money reflects a moral position. Painting those who work hard and succeed as greedy and undeserving of their wealth is an unbiblical and unethical concept. For good people, believing in the virtue and dignity of work is necessary for making money. Counter the negative message that pervades our society by listening to Boost Your Income: 3 Spiritual Steps to Success. Would you like to have more money than you currently earn? This CD, on sale now, is a good way to start making that a reality.
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