This week saw the publication of the so called Panama Papers. These are documents leaked from the law firm Mossack Fonseca and comprises of more data than either Edward Snowden or Wikileaks managed to hand out. The Panama Papers give us a glimpse into the workings of tax evasion around the world. These papers have lifted the lid on how criminals, politicians and companies have avoided paying all the tax they should have. The revelations have seen the Icelandic PM resign, the Chinese government ban all mention of what has happened and David Cameron have to repeatedly release clarifying statements about his own statements.
All of this has led to the inevitable social media chatter as many have condemned and others have commended the actions of those who have avoided tax. As I have read, heard and seen all of this information come out I can’t shake the feeling that avoiding certain taxes, although in most cases legally, isn’t right. Furthermore, I can’t see an argument for how followers of Jesus can defend this action.
There are a number of bits of scripture that have come to mind when thinking about this topic. One is where the title of the post comes from in Matthew 6:24. The other is the story of the man and his barns in Luke 12 and finally the greatest commandment.
Matthew 6:24 tells us we can’t serve two masters. We can’t serve both God and Mammon. Mammon is a strange word but means wealth, money or material possessions. This is a clarifying verse that confirms what Jesus has already said in the previous verses. He tells his listeners to not lay up their treasures on earth.
Tax evasion is basically a way to keep as much of your money as possible. Creating companies based in tax havens allows money to be kept away from British (or anywhere else’s) governments so it doesn’t have to pay tax in those countries. This is a prime way of storing up your treasures on earth, squirrelling away money to build wealth. Having an offshore account also seems to make people secretive and at times dishonest to keep this wealth hidden. To serve the one means we have to disregard some of the key characteristics of the other. You can’t evade tax and serve God.
Luke 12:16-21 tells the story of a rich man who has a good harvest. In fact his harvest is so good he builds bigger barns to store all of his crops and goods. He tells himself he has done good and can sit back, relax, drink and be merry. The word of warning is this, you don’t know when you will die and storing treasure for yourself and not being rich towards God is a mistake.
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The greatest commandment, found throughout the bible from Leviticus to the New Testament gospels also speaks into this situation. Often paraphrased as Love God, Love People; in its fullness it states
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. Luke 10:27
What does it mean to love your neighbour as yourself? An often asked question and the answer is much larger than what I will say here. This commandment, as in the other two stories sets the mark on right relationship. Love God with all you have. It then goes on to tell us to love are neighbour as ourself.
If tax evasion was being used as a way to benefit the poorest people and countries in society I could understand an argument being made for its use. The evidence though is stacked against it. Tax evasion keeps money for the self and away from those who need it. If we tackled tax evasion it would help fill some of the funding gap in the NHS, education and other public sector areas. Food banks may become a thing of the past and those in need would be cared for. Instead many who ‘have’ seem to live by the commandment love thyself by any means possible, you have no neighbours.
Credits – ‘HMRC Evasion Campaign Poster on Bilboard’ by HM Revenue and Customs under CC BY 2.0