Shane Legler

Since our Legislature is about to begin its biennial budget session and may be considering the grand question of whether we should even pay property tax, I thought it might be helpful to see what we might glean from God’s word on the matter. I don’t think there is any subject whatsoever that is beyond discerning the mind of Christ on it from Scripture. Further, I think most would agree that our faith, if it is any kind of faith worth having, must also inform and shape our politics.

That understood, in consideration of this question, it is helpful to see what the proper role of government in general is. The passage that speaks directly to this is also the passage that mandates that Christians submit to the governing authority and pay taxes in general. It declares, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer … For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them,” says Romans 13:1-7.

We need to hear that government does have the authority to tax, but to what end? It has the authority to tax so it can carry out its one God ordained function, which is to be a terror to evil conduct and an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Government was given the sword for the good of those who do good. As the Scripture declares, “When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers,” says Proverbs 21:15.

Human government was established after the flood for the express purpose of executing God’s judgment on the murderer (Genesis 9:6). Therefore, we are told to be in subjection because government is to work to protect and preserve the lives, liberties, livelihoods and properties of the lawful citizens under its authority. When a government turns from God’s design of protecting the innocent to plundering them, it is God himself who will stand opposed to that government.

Every king of Israel was commanded to write out their own copy of God’s law so they could govern by it (Deuteronomy 17:18). Now, we’ve already established that government has a biblical authority to tax, but what may we glean from God’s word concerning property tax? First, the ownership of property is a right granted by God himself. If this was not so, “thou shalt not steal” would not be one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:15). This commandment was reiterated by Jesus in Matthew 19:18. 

As to the ownership of land, God gave the Israelites land to possess in perpetuity. It belonged to them forever so that they could be free. If an Israelite fell on hard times and had to sell his land, the Lord forbade it to be sold forever. It could only be sold for a limited time and would return to the original owner in the year of Jubilee “when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan” (Leviticus 25:10). 

Further, not even the king of Israel could force a person off their land without incurring guilt. In 1 Kings 21, the Lord tells how king Ahab wanted the vineyard of Naboth for his own and offered to buy it. Naboth refused to sell, so Ahab’s wife had him killed, and Ahab took possession. God sent his prophet to tell Ahab that God was ending his house and giving the kingship to someone else.

The point comes to this: Government has the authority to tax, but property ownership was God’s idea and a right that he has given to all people. The right of property ownership goes hand in hand with freedom. If government can seize a home because someone can’t pay the tax, did they ever really own the home? The very idea of property tax is in direct opposition to the idea of private ownership. I do not really own what I must pay a tax to keep. In truth, the tax I pay is rent, which necessarily reduces me to the status of a serf who stewards the land by the leave and pleasure of the government. 

Government has been given a mandate to protect property rather than to seize it from the citizen. Biblically, I can’t see how it is anything but immoral for government to levy a tax that necessarily grants them the right to seize a home, which rightfully belongs to the citizen whose property rights it is mandated to uphold and protect. If our legislators can manage to do away with property tax altogether, this will be a year of jubilee.

(Shane Legler is the pastor of Powell Church of God.)