Economics God’s Way (7)

“And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s. It is holy to the LORD.” Leviticus 27.30

Remuneration of public officials
The Law of God is silent concerning remuneration for public officials. Priests and Levites were to be supported by the tithe of the people in their communities, but this was because they did not own any real property. The fields provided for them were attached to the cities where they lived, but these were common lands, intended only as a partial means of their support.

The Law does not specify how the elders, judges, and local rulers—even the king—were to be supported, if they were supported financially at all.

Presumably, these people, the civil magistrates of ancient Israel, being property owners like everyone else, except the priests and Levites, would have worked their land and realized 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 put the people of Israel on notice against revenue schemes that might foster just such practices (Deut. 17.16, 17).

In addition, if 1 Kings 10 can be taken in anything like a normative sense, governments and the services they provided may have been funded, if only in part, by tribute from subject nations. Those nations, in turn, enjoyed certain benefits from the kings in Jerusalem.

Since government was mainly local in ancient Israel, it was not necessary to fund a large, central bureaucracy and the many projects it might spin up. Taxation would ultimately appear in Israel—typically, imposed by a foreign power such as Persia or Rome—but we find no support for a continuous general tax on the population in the Law of God. From time to time an assessment was imposed on the people of Israel to help in supporting the tabernacle or temple; however, these were few and far between (cf. Ex. 30.12-20; 1 Chron. 22.1-16). A yearly, general tax to support government and its projects was not a part of the divine economy for ancient Israel.

The only item that came close to what we know as taxes in our day was the tithe.

The right to tax
At the same time, both Jesus and Paul affirmed the right of states to levy taxes upon the people they served as agents of God for 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, we may gain some insight into God’s mind on this matter looking at the example of the tithe as a way of thinking about the logic for tax policies. In ancient Israel the tithe was a uniform rate for all people, regardless of income, social standing, or need. Everyone was expected to bring a tenth of his wealth—much of this in the form of property (animals or harvests)—to be administered by priests and Levites for the upkeep of the spiritual life of the nation.

In our country, graduated tax rates, accompanied by a variety of flat taxes, have become the means for creating an ever-expanding central government and 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. (As an aside, it’s interesting to note that one of the early arguments for a graduated income tax appeared not in The Federalist Papers but in The Communist Manifesto.) It’s not difficult to see how such a system of taxation can be used to curry favor and purchase political power.

If ours were a flat-rate income tax system—like the tithe—the wealthy would pay more, but not proportionately so. All those who benefit from the services of the government 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 (even if their “income” was only derived from gleaning and other services provided for the poor), so it would be under a flat-rate income tax system. The wealthy would pay more, but not more, proportionately, than anyone else.

The argument that this would not provide enough revenue to support the federal government in its present form is persuasive—not for maintaining a graduated income tax, but for achieving a smaller central government, one that can live within the limits of its available resources.

Corruption in taxation
Tax policies in America today are pragmatic and unjust. Administrations seek changes in tax laws to fund ambitious programs which, in the end, are designed to serve their political aspirations. For many Americans, the most chilling bit of mail one can receive is a notice from the Internal Revenue Service—unless, of course, it appears that the envelope contains a refund.

Tax policies feature large in political campaigns. Whichever side wants to raise them promises that only “the wealthy” will pay more while the rest of us will hardly notice a change. The end of taxation is to generate revenue to support political agendas (as well as certain necessities). Americans fret and fuss over taxes perhaps more than any single subject, and they are especially rankled that governments continue to find more ways of relieving them of their hard-earned income by taxing so many items at so many levels of government.

The Law of God does not support such out-of-control taxation. To whatever extent we may bring about a rolling back of taxes in America, we should seek policies that will do so.

For reflection
1. By what authority do governments increase or lower taxes? Which governments at what levels can raise taxes in our society?

2. What accounting do governments provide to justify taxation policies? Do you think most people review this accounting?

3. What restraints are available to discourage governments from out-of-control taxation?

Next steps—Preparation: Seek the Lord in prayer concerning what you can do to help realize fairer taxes for yourself and your neighbors.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.