Poll Tax
One of the most controversial pieces of legislation that this Government has passed is that of the Community Charge or poll tax. As this is a fundamental change in the philosophy of personal taxation I thought perhaps we should look at it in the light of biblical comment on such things. Such an examination involves complex bits and pieces about taxation, justice and the authority of the government. It raises many questions: Is the tax fair? Is it just? Can we oppose the Government? Can we break the law and not pay it? Should we concentrate on more important things? We want to see not what position and argument we can draw from the starting point of our own political ideology but what we can learn of God’s attitude to the problem. I am very much aware that I have not covered all the aruments surrounding the tax here but I hope this will help you to appreciate some of the issues.
The place to start is wiith the Bible. I shall look firstly at justice and the poor and then at biblical models of taxation.
Psalm 106 v.3 states, ”Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right”, and this is a theme that we see throughout the history of Israel. The books of the Law (the first five books of the Bible) call upon the Israelites to care for the aliens, orphans and widows — Old Testament archetypes of the vulnerable in society. The Israelites are again and again exhorted to be generous to these people — (”When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow.” (Deuteronomy 24, v.19)). The Lord is the defender of the poor ”He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien …” (Deuteronomyv 19, v.8), and if you mess with the poor you mess with the Lord — see Deuteronomy 24, vv.14–15. Indeed denying justice to the poor is mentioned in the same breath as incest in Deuteronomy chapter 27 (around verse 19).
What does this tell us apart from the fact that I’ve been reading Deuteronomy? It shows that when the Lord established the ground rules for his chosen people they were told to give a high priority to the poor part of society. You will find the same thing in the Old Testament prophets who call out the sins of Israel; often pointing at their failure to look out for the poor (see Jeremiah 5 vv.27–28 for instance).
It is surely our God-given responsibility to examine for ourselves the new legislation (and also old legislation). If it prioritises the poor we can applaud it, if it marginalises the poor we must stand against such immorality gaining a hold on our society.
Of course people disagree about the merits of the poll tax system. The Government have shown themselves particularly keen to discuss the cause of the widow (the majority of whom will be better off) and point out that more households will gain than lose (Department of the Environment Press Release No 423 26 Nov 87), this is because there are more single person households than those with three or more adults.
On the other side of the coin, a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies showed for example that of those houesholds earning less than £150 a week, 18% will be better off and 59% will be worse off. Of those earning £200 a week, 72% will be better off, and 13% worse off. (Stephen Smith and Duncan Squire, “Local Taxes and Local Government”. Institute for Fiscal Studies, May 87) Look into it to make your own analysis but beware of anecdotal evidence of the “widow next door to the family of five” or “millionaire living in a castle” kind.
The Bible does talk directly about taxes at times, for instance at one point Moses is instructed to take a census. Each adult was to pay a sum as an atonement for his/her life. These are the instructions: ”Each one … is to give half a shekel … All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord. The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the Lord to atone for your lives.” (Exodus 30, v.13). This seems to be a biblical precedent for the poll tax. However it is of note that the money was used not for the maintenence of society but put towards the Tent of Meeting (a sort of portable temple) and the equal cost reflects the equal worth of each individual rather than a God-ordained taxation system. When the Law talks about giving money for the maintenance of society (paying the Levites, supporting the poor and worship of God in the Old testament context) it has an income-based system in a tithe of 10%. In Leviticus 27, vv.1–8 we see in giving to the Lord a system based on ability to pay, note verse 8: ”If anyone making the vow is too poor to pay the specified amount, he is to present the person to the priest, who will set the value for him according to what the man making the vow can afford.”. Similarly in terms of ability to pay, individuals are instructed not to take from the poor. ”If the man is poor, do not go to sleep with his pledge in your possession. Return his cloak to him by sunset so that he may sleep in it.” (Deuteronomy 24, vv.12–13)
I would implore you to take seriously your responsibilities to our society both individual and political. Examine legislation (whether it is the S.U. policies, local Government or national Government) in the light of the Scriptures, with intelligent discernment, and with unswerving dedication to justice and righteousness.