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Il Papa Delves Further into Social Justice

The UK Times Online reports that Pope Benedict XVI will discourage people from creating offshore bank accounts and using tax loopholes to save money on their taxes.

There is an important distinction between true “tax evasion” and the “tax avoidance” that it sounds like the Pope is criticizing. Tax evasion is the avoidance of paying taxes one already owes, while tax avoidance is pre-taxation behavior intended to reduce tax liability. If the Pope does mean tax evasion as we know it, then (big shock) he can refer to Romans 13. :)

Tax loopholes are a legislative function and can be open or closed at legislative will. Assuming these people are simply following the law, they are merely being wise as serpents and making the most of their talents.

Sure, we can be greedy, but we should be careful to automatically condemn things as greed. Amassing wealth in the stock market ends up providing capital to companies that innovate and hire people. Keeping money in a foreign bank can do the same thing.

I am concerned at this particular line of reasoning, that not using tax loopholes is the way to better society. More taxes to the state means more power to the state: not always a good thing. Hopefully Pope Benedict will recall his observations about national socialist society.

We’ll see what happens when the encyclical comes out.

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