Posted on 08/19/2012 5:52:15 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Are taxes a form of charitable donation?
Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney seemed to suggest that he might think so last week, when he responded to questions about how much he pays in taxes by suggesting that people should take into account his total contributions to the government and charities.
The comment was a quick one — a by-golly insistence that despite paying a relatively low tax rate on his vast income, the millions he has given to charity show that he’s not a greedy guy.
But experts who research public attitudes on philanthropy on both sides of the political spectrum said it was an inadvertently revealing moment, a brief window into the deep philosophical differences between how liberals and conservatives view government and society.
“Taxes are a form a of charity,” said Michael Tanner, a scholar at the Cato Institute who has studied philanthropy, explaining the conservative viewpoint. “If we think of the point of taxes, it’s not to be punitive. We tax people because there’s some use, some public good, for which they’re needed.”
He added that one reason a conservative such as Romney aims to push tax rates down is a fundamental belief that individuals make better choices about what society needs than government does: “A conservative might say, ‘I know of something in my local community where my dollars might serve a better purpose.’”
The flip side of the argument, the liberal side, is that the point of government is to provide a way for citizens to decide together what society needs and to get those things done.
“This is really the fundamental disagreement,” said Garrett Gruener, the founder of Ask.com, who advocates higher taxes for himself and other ultra-wealthy individuals as part of the group Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength.........................
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Jesus promises that there is an eternal reward for charitable giving. If we help the poor via voluntary charity, we could be blessed. If that same money is instead taken from us by force via taxes, even if it is used exactly the same way to help the poor, and we are okay with the taxes and its purpose, we lose our reward.
Democrats steal our eternal reward to get votes.
Yep. They're all for higher taxes - as long as it doesn't affect them personally. I'll bet he uses a gazillion tax loopholes.
If he were to walk the talk, he'd have written a $300 million dollar check to the IRS by now.
Where's the check?
Seriously now, “giving” at the end of a gun is the moral equivalent as giving from the heart? We’ve descended so far that this is even a worthy topic of conversation? How pitiful.
How should God approve that you take from Peter, and give this robbery to Paul, in the name of Christ?
I watched Romney make the comment, it was when he said he paid 13%. I understood it to mean that it included taking the charitable deduction without which the rate would have been higher. Of course as an accountant I usually think in terms of the math and not morality when it comes to taxes.
The naivete' shown by this statement is offensive, especially coming from the Cato Institute. Taxes are THE main way the economy is damaged badly enough for the same government that imposes the crushing taxes, to declare even more crushing taxes are needed to take care of the people impoverished by the crushing taxes. For a "scholar" not acknowledge this fundamental self-reinforcing cycle, with fully HALF the population on govenment support, is inexcusable.
I’ve had many conversations w/ some libs in the office regarding this topic.
Their only “point” is.....”no one is going to volunteer to pay more taxes”.
And I, in turn, say “well then they should shut the eff up if they can’t put their money where their mouth is.”
And I also bring up these people “crying to pay more taxes” are also the same ones who FIGHT from paying WHAT THEY OWE.
The only thing I get out of these conversations is these libs covet what others have.
Charity at the point of a gun is theft. Romney appears to have given well above that which was “required” of him; that’s charity.
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