Friday, March 16, 2018

Youcat commented through CCC – Question n. 431.



YOUCAT Question n. 431 - Is it permissible to use tax dodges?


(Youcat answer) Inventiveness in dealing with complex systems of taxation is morally unobjectionable. It is immoral to evade taxes or to commit tax fraud, in other words, to falsify, fail to report, or conceal facts so as to prevent a correct assessment of taxes due.   

A deepening through CCC

(CCC 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.     

Reflecting and meditating 

(Youcat comment) By paying taxes, citizens contribute, each according to his ability, so that the State can fulfill its duties. Therefore tax evasion is not a petty infraction. Taxes should be just and proportionate and should be levied by law.

(CCC Comment)

(CCC 1867) The catechetical tradition also recalls that there are "sins that cry to heaven": the blood of Abel  (Cf. Gen 4:10), the sin of the Sodomites (Cf. Gen 18:20; 19:13), the cry of the people oppressed in Egypt (Cf. Ex 3:7-10), the cry of the foreigner, the widow, and the orphan (Cf. Ex 20:20-22), injustice to the wage earner (Cf. Deut 24:14-15; Jas 5:4).

(The next question is: May a Christian speculate in the stock market or in Internet stocks?)

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