Attitudes toward taxes depend upon who imposes them and how governments use the revenue. Modern attitudes toward taxes and tax collectors have a long history shaped at least in part by the Judeo-Christian canon. The Bible’s first mention of taxes is in Genesis 41 where Joseph advises Pharoah to collect a 20 percent in-kind tax in order to lay up provisions for coming seven years of famine. The proceeds of that tax were put to good use providing benefits for all Egyptians, including Joseph’s family.
Similarly, the temple tax described in Exodus 30 was used to support the temple and religious officials who served there. The temple was the most holy place for Hebrews. Joseph’s taxes and the temple tax paid for what today are called public goods making tax payers better off.
Matthew’s gospel has the first New Testament mention of taxes. There the temple tax collector asked Peter to cough up the tax. According to Matthew, obligingly, Jesus had a fish literally cough up the coin to pay the tax man. Matthew doesn’t say Jesus had any objection to paying the tax. A little further on in Matthew’s gospel he tells another story illustrating Jesus’ blasé attitude even toward Roman taxes. When asked whether it was lawful to pay taxes to Rome Jesus said, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s and to God the things that are God’s.”
However, Jesus’ attitude toward Roman taxes was not shared by others. Taxes and tax collectors are objects of hatred in New Testament scriptures. Tax collectors were contract workers collaborating with Rome. As long as they remitted the required sum to Rome, they were allowed to extort from citizens at will. They became very rich on the backs of fellow Hebrews, hence, the hatred. Rome’s taxes appropriated wealth from citizens and supported its oppression of Judea and Galilee rather than providing pubic goods.
Though modern antipathy toward taxes has Biblical roots, Jesus’ attitude toward taxes was sort of “Whatever,” but his attitude toward tax collectors was salvific. Matthew was a tax collector and Jesus called Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector, down from the tree to share a meal.
Notice the difference in how taxes and tax collectors are depicted in the two testaments. The Old Testament describes taxes raised by local authorities to support religious life, a cherished public good. In New Testament stories taxes were imposed to extract wealth by a reviled, occupying power, hatred supercharged by tax collectors’ extortion to support their lavish life styles. Rome’s taxes provided no local benefits, only misery. It matters whether citizens trust the taxing authority and find social value in how tax revenues are used.
Patrick Taylor lives in Ridgeland.
