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What
Most Taxpayers
Have
Not BeenTold!
by Clayton Steep
What is the plain truth about taxes and tithing?
T
HINK
of it! Out of an
eight-hour workday you
la bor the f irst two,
three or even four hours just
to pay
direct
taxes.
And this says nothing of the
indirect
taxes and fees you pay–
which are aJready hidden in the
prices of what you purchase.
How did this system of taxation
get started anyway?
How lt Began
Thc principie of taxation has been
uscd by human governments sincc
ancient times. 1n Bible history it
began witb King Saul, 3,000 years
ago.
Sometimes taxes took the form
of rcntlike dues on land. Or per–
haps a duty levicd on commerce.
Or it might havc becn a head tax,
such as one decreed by Caesar
Augustus, recorded in Luke 2:1-3.
But governments long ago gener–
ally did not rely on a wide range of
laxes for the bulk of their revenue.
lt
is only in the last few hundred
October 1985
years, wi th the rapid growth of
trade and industry, that a diversity
of taxes began to constitute an
important part of national reve–
nues.
It
was then that centralized
governmenls in Europe replaced
the older feudal system. Simple
land dues were expanded into prop–
erty taxes, eventually including
taxes on houses and personal prop–
erty. Import-export duties and
excise taxes became more numer–
ous as world trade flourished.
Finally, thc income tax arrived–
a tax on the earning level of one's
profession.
Needless to say, the temptation
to tax has not been resisted by mosl
lax planners and legislators.
Now governments in the indus–
trial world depend so heavily on
these diverse taxes that they cannot
reduce them without major eco–
nomic dislocation .
Cer tainly government needs sorne
kind of income to enable it to provide
essential services to its citizens, lo
oversee an orderly functioning of the
nation and to pay needed govern-
ment employees. But the humanly
devised systems of taxation many
nations are saddled with today are
complicated, burdensome and, by
common admission, have gotten out
of control. Worldwide, there is much
discussion about overhauling exist–
ing tax systems, but it seems few
people realize lhcre is a better way
altogether!
A
Better
Plan
There is indeed an alternative to
problem-riddled methods of taxa–
tion. U.S. President Ronald Reagan
himself once alluded to it in a news
story, which though it did not make
major headlines, should have. He
stated to sorne reporters: "The
Lord-really, we could copy Him a
little bit. The Lord hada pretty sim–
ple tax plan- tithing- that His
share is a tenth." To this he added:
"When we start computing Caesar's
share it gets a little bit out of line."
Does it ever! We've already com–
mented on just how much out of
line Caesar's- that is to say,
human
govcrnments' - tax de-
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