Tax

Is cheating on it a sin?

Yes. The Catechism names it: among the ways of “unjustly taking and keeping the property of others” it lists “tax evasion”, beside business fraud and forged invoices. The paragraph opens with a clause that reaches further than the law: such taking is wrong “even if it does not contradict the provisions of civil law”. CCC 2409 Paying taxes is “morally obligatory”, in the same sentence as voting and defending one’s country, and the Catechism quotes Paul: “Pay to all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due.” CCC 2240

The reason is who the money is for. The Compendium counts “the payment of taxes as part of the duty of solidarity”, and describes the social protection that public money pays for as “designed above all to protect the weakest members of society”. CSDC 355

Keeping to the letter of the law is not the whole test. In 2018 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, with Francis’s approval, criticised actions “directed toward bypassing the normative principles in place without contradicting explicitly the norms themselves”, and asked for a move “from a merely formal adherence to a substantial respect of the regulations”, naming tax avoidance as a case in point. Oeconomicae et Pecuniariae Quaestiones 28 They called tax avoidance by the large financial players “an unjust removal of resources from the actual economy”, while granting that national tax systems do not “seem to be always equal”, and that the inequity “often disadvantages the economically weaker persons”. Oeconomicae et Pecuniariae Quaestiones 31

Tiziano Vecellio, The Tribute Money, c. 1560–1568. National Gallery, London.

Mt 22:21

2240

Submission to authority and co-responsibility for the common good make it morally obligatory to pay taxes, to exercise the right to vote, and to defend one's country: Pay to all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due. Rom 13:7. [Christians] reside in their own nations, but as resident aliens. They participate in all things as citizens and endure all things as foreigners.... They obey the established laws and their way of life surpasses the laws.... So noble is the position to which God has assigned them that they are not allowed to desert it. Ad Diognetum 5, 5 and 10; 6, 10: PG — Patrologia Graeca (Migne) and 1176. The Apostle exhorts us to offer prayers and thanksgiving for kings and all who exercise authority, "that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way." 1 Tim 2:2.

2409

Even if it does not contradict the provisions of civil law, any form of unjustly taking and keeping the property of others is against the seventh commandment: thus, deliberate retention of goods lent or of objects lost; business fraud; paying unjust wages; forcing up prices by taking advantage of the ignorance or hardship of another. Cf. Deut 25:13-16; 24:14-15; Jas 5:4; Am 8:4-6. The following are also morally illicit: speculation in which one contrives to manipulate the price of goods artificially in order to gain an advantage to the detriment of others; corruption in which one influences the judgment of those who must make decisions according to law; appropriation and use for private purposes of the common goods of an enterprise; work poorly done; tax evasion; forgery of checks and invoices; excessive expenses and waste. Willfully damaging private or public property is contrary to the moral law and requires reparation.

355

Tax revenues and public spending take on crucial economic importance for every civil and political community. The goal to be sought is public financing that is itself capable of becoming an instrument of development and solidarity. Just, efficient and effective public financing will have very positive effects on the economy, because it will encourage employment growth and sustain business and non-profit activities and help to increase the credibility of the State as the guarantor of systems of social insurance and protection that are designed above all to protect the weakest members of society. Public spending is directed to the common good when certain fundamental principles are observed: the payment of taxes Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 30: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 58 (1966) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1966), 1049-1050. as part of the duty of solidarity; a reasonable and fair application of taxes; Cf. John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 53 (1961) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1961), 433-434, 438. precision and integrity in administering and distributing public resources. Cf. Pius XI, Encyclical Letter Divini Redemptoris: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See) (1966), 103-104. In the redistribution of resources, public spending must observe the principles of solidarity, equality and making use of talents. It must also pay greater attention to families, designating an adequate amount of resources for this purpose. Cf. Pius XII, Radio Message for the fiftieth anniversary of Rerum Novarum, 21: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 33 (1941) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1941), 202; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 49: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 83 (1991) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1991), 854-856; John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, 45: AAS — Acta Apostolicae Sedis (official gazette of the Holy See)Volume 74 (1982) at vatican.va — scanned PDF (1982), 136-137.

Oeconomicae et Pecuniariae Quaestiones Jan 6, 2018

From the Catechism

From the Social Doctrine

From the Magisterium