Sharing our blessings... via taxes

Nearly a week ago, as Brian mentioned in his last blog post, I testified for the first time in committee. Not just any committee, in fact--the House Tax Committee. I've always been more comfortable with the written word over the spoken, so I stepped a little out of my comfort zone in heading to the Hill--but the purpose of my trip, I think, was worth it.

Rep. Hornstein's bill--now heading to the floor tomorrow in a slightly altered version (as an amendment to Huntley's Health and Human Services budget)--addresses tax avoidance strategies by closing off a loophole for corporations illegitimately posing as foreign operating corporations (FOCs). Once closed, the state will gain tens of millions of dollars in revenue, making up for many of the cuts in the proposed House Health and Human Services budget, including cuts to MFIP, mental health services, and county-provided public childcare services.

As a novice, I must admit that performing my first testimony left a mark on me. Since last week, I've been carrying with me the counter-arguments to the positions I stated, and the frustrations expressed by some of the members--what I see as discomfort with the justice-based message that JRLC brings to the legislature. Our position on taxation is not always the most popular. Yet today, flipping through some of the materials in our office, I came across a 2005 Pastoral Statement on Taxation by the Catholic Bishops of Minnesota. In it, they said,

"In Catholic teaching, paying taxes flows from the virtues of justice and love because taxes are one of the means by which we share our blessings with the poor and vulnerable, and build up the common good. The just collection and distribution of tax revenues are important functions of government, for government is a means to do together what we cannot accomplish on our own."

As a member of this rich and varied interfaith coalition, I revel in the fact that there is something to this teaching which resonates in me: taxes as a means by which to share our blessings with the poor and vulnerable; taxes as a just and fair mechanism; government as a tool which accomplishes greater things than what only an individual is able to do. We are blessed by this community we comprise together, in which we may borrow and give to one another the richest and mightiest our traditions have to offer!

What does your faith tradition or religion say about taxes? Where do you pull your inspiration? Offer insight in a comment below!

Alison Killeen
Statewide Organizer