Is tax avoidance a sin?

[Socrates92]

Ok, tricky moral dilemma there. Our government participates in things that just about everyone will find objectionable, abortion being the outstanding one.

We have to work with just laws, so avoidance is not a sin. Evasion, yes.

Well, does the fact the government funds immoral things pose a dilemma or not? You seemed to start along one line of argument in the first half, and then throw it out in the second. It’s a given that we’re supposed to obey just laws. But whether or not the laws are just is the very question.

 

[LaughingBoy1503]

All I’m saying is that I pay my taxes… But I’m not gonna write down and report Everytime a co worker gives me $5 for a ride and report it to the government nor if I win $10 playing the lottery just because the government wants every penny that they can get.

 

[Alex5]

Its difficult.

A few years ago a friend had the opportunity to invest in the company that he worked in. At the time he made the investment the government had a special tax bracket for people who did this. What it meant was that if the company made money and he sold his shares, he would only pay 5% on the gain. So he did this. He borrowed heavily to invest. He took the risk. If the business had of failed he would of lost his home. Well the business didn’t fail. But the law changed and government abolished this special tax rate and put it back to the standard rate. So my friend took all the risk on the promise of a 5% tax rate and the government ended up taking nearly 50% of the gain in tax.

Another friend who is a teacher was chatting to a newly qualified teacher. This new teacher was saying that its wrong that students have to pay tuition fees. When my friend asked who should pay the answer was “well the wealthy people should pay”. Well the problem is that the UK can’t afford to send the number of people to university that currently go. So either people have to pay their own fees or if the country can only afford to send 3% to university then the only the top 3% should go.

Its all very well saying that the wealthy should pay higher taxes. But who are the wealthy? Increasing its not the Richard Branson’s and Alan Sugar its the people who make small investments and those who maybe just own their own home. If you own your own house and maybe worked years to pay for it. Plus also paid your national insurance stamps. It seams very unfairly that in your old age the State can pretty much take it off you to pay for your care home fees. Your better off renting and spending every penny because then the state will have to cover your full care home fees.

I think there is an attitude that we should tax the rich, and that hiding money via legal tax avoidance systems is wrong. But that paying the builder in cash to get a cheaper price as he can avoid paying tax is ok. Its more envy that anything else.

I am sure others won’t agree but its seams that in the UK we pay a lot in tax and don’t get that much back for it.

 

[MonteRCMS]

You’re asking a political question and stating that you only want answers from a particular political mindset?

Incidentally, I am both a Catholic and a socialist and to my mind tax avoidance is a sin.

What part of being a socialist do you like?

Which countries that claim to be socialist do you favor?

For example: Cuba? Venezuela? Nicaragua? Benin?