https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-18/christian-family-who-avoided-tax-...
This family of honey farmers in Tasmania have refused to pay income tax or rates (land taxes) for years on the grounds that it's against god's will. Normally I have the greatest sympathy for people who are struggling with the tax bastards and their Byzantine regulations, but I'm not sure about this lot. What about "render unto Caesar"?
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Obviously they have not read their bible. Matthew 22:21 Jesus said "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's.
Christians have gotten this wrong since the beginning. They think Tithing has something to do with money. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ......
Testament (Deuteronomy 12 and 14) shows that the Israelites tithed only food (crops, animals, fruit, oil) and juice (wine). There is no mention of tithing money.
People that lived far from the temple would sell their crops, go to the temple and then buy new crops for the tithe. NO MONEY. Collecting money is a greedy catholic invention.
Judge has hit them with approx $2m bill, including legal costs.
They could pray to God to pay it? If their God is real and he intervenes we will know they were right, seeemples.
@Algebe/thread
No one likes paying taxes, (churches certainly have mastered the art of avoiding taxes!) Heck I don't eithir, I actually give away a fair amount of money to simply lower my taxes, sometimes at 20 cents to the dollar, (in terms of tax savings per donor dollar spent.) And I could start a long rant about how the extremely wealthy do not pay anywhere CLOSE to their fair share of the tax burden.
That said, taxes are necessary, I am happy to pay my state and local taxes for the most part. My only real gripe is with federal taxes, and that I do not like my dollars going towards an extremely bloated military, and then another large percentage that goes pay the interest on national debt that I never agreed or wanted to be in debt in the first place.
I never really heard of anyone struggling under the tax load in the US, mostly just folks griping about it. And I bet there would be a lot less griping if the mega corporations and super rich elite actually paid their fair share.
LogicFTW: That said, taxes are necessary
Of course. But if I have to pay taxes, I want the system to be simple and fair, and I want to be sure that none of my money is wasted on outrageous perks for politicians and bureaucrats. In New Zealand, where I used to live, the tax laws and regulations would fill about 300 bibles, and they're so complex that everyone is guilty of something. It's precisely because of that complexity that the Amazons, Facebooks, and Apples are able to get away with paying nothing.
Tax departments are typically the most unaccountable arms of government, because even politicians and judges are afraid of them.
That's a recipe for tyranny. If the police accuse me of murder, they have to prove it. If the tax department accuses me of evasion, I have to prove I'm innocent.
Taxes are necessary?
That is an illusion. It's as necessary as religion or politics is necessary....the 2 other illusions.
I've heard the rebuttals a thousand times. Oh where oh where else will the money come from for the services and lifestyles we require?
The word tax is a hypnotic word to make us believe that it can only come from us and we foolishly obey and follow. Truth be told, taxes are what keeps the world structures and institutions as they seem and not what they are; power structures to create different classes and slaves to the systems that serves the elect.
Oh but look at all the freedoms we have...that's another illusion.
This world doesn't need taxes. It needs money and money is not a tax. A different world system can change all this belief that taxes are necessary or that suffering to survive is necessary. As long as politics can hold on to power, the elect will use it to their advantage, not ours.
Just my 2 cents on taxes.