Flat Tax

I hear arguments for a flat tax rate and think that such a system would never work. Sure, you can ask a rich person to pay more taxes and they will probably be just fine, but I just can’t imagine the poorest of the poor suddenly being burdened with a tax bill that will cut into their food and gasoline budget. However, I belong to a faith that requires its members to pay a flat donation, regardless of income. It has made me wonder, why does a flat rate work in the one setting, but probably wouldn’t in the other? I have thought of a couple of things it could boil down to.

One, people in my church are relied upon to be generous with their donations above and beyond the flat tax rate. These other donations are given in the form of donations for the poor in their neighborhoods, donations to help our missionary efforts, donations to help build meeting houses, donations to help educate the poor of our faith in other countries, etc. Sure, you can be held in good standing in our faith by simply paying the flat rate, but many pay much more in the additional optional donations. As a country, if our tax rate were flat, I doubt that anyone would voluntarily pay a cent higher than what is required. Maybe it comes down to whether a person is forced to do something or if they are able to do it of their own free will.

The second could perhaps just be a matter of perspective. With taxes, we do everything we can not to pay them. And when we do pay them, we expect to receive something in return for them in the future. We pay income taxes, so that we can have new roads, be protected from our enemies, and generally have our country function. We pay social security, so that one day our kids will pay social security for us so that we can retire. We pay other taxes so that we can receive healthcare in our old age. Everything is paid with an eye to getting that money back in the future. The donations that we pay in my faith are viewed as paying back from what we have already received. We believe that everything we have was given to us from God, including our food, clothes, homes, the air we breathe, the sun that warms our face, even the very bodies we are walking around in. When you think of it that way, it really isn’t that hard to pay back a flat rate of what we have already received. Who wouldn’t give 1 dime back if someone gave him 10?

There are probably other reasons. Can you think of any?