Income Tax Debates

Income Tax Debates

The fight is on to decide if the American people will pay more in income taxes in 2011. Our congressional leaders are busy positioning themselves right and left. Some say they want no more tax increases of any kind while others are saying we ought to tax the rich another bite. Taxes are an endless topic in popular politics so I suppose tax talk will be a recurring theme here. The good news is that the Bible has a lot to say on the subject so we never have to just guess it on our own.

The politicos are debating our fate but there are some facts about this entire discussion that ought to be understood by all of us. Current federal income tax rates are already set at ruinously high rates. Self employed people have to pay over 15% of gross income right off the bat. After this comes standard income taxes at rates up to 39%. Beyond these we pay capital gains tax, land taxes, sales taxes, personal property taxes, state income taxes etc. etc.

I have been reading in the book of Genesis about Joseph and his rule over Egypt. When the famine came, the citizens became desperate for food. They made an agreement with Joseph to become slaves in the land for an allotment of food.

‘And at the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones. So they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” (Genesis 47:24-25)

It makes me wonder if the American people would be happy to set an agreement like theirs where we would give 20% to the civil government and be guaranteed to keep the rest for ourselves? By the criteria used in Egypt we would still be slaves but we would be better off than we are now. It saddens me to think that we citizens are satisfied to live as slaves at all. How have we come to this? Why do we sing a national anthem that uplifts us as being the land of the free (and the home of the brave) when our tax rates in fact define us as slaves? Plus – neither party is saying they want us to regain our freedom. Both parties want us to remain as slaves. They are just squabbling over the details. No one up there really plans to un-rivet our chains. So, we labor as slaves but sing the songs of freemen. God will restore our freedom when we repent as a nation of our many gross sins and begin to obey Him. I believe it is better to repent and actually be freed than to just sing about it. This is one more reason I want to see a return to Christian culture.

For Christian Culture,

Don Schanzenbach      12-3-10