Woke Pope Says Taxes Are A “Misunderstood Form Of Sharing”

The taxation situation of Vatican City is rather complicated. On one hand, there are no taxes for employees who work in Vatican City. On the other, they’ve owed a lot of money to Italy for tax agreements, and keep stiffing Israel over their taxes on religious properties. Regardless, it’s rather weird for the Pope to get involved in the government taxation debate like this

Taxes can be key to social justice, pope tells business leaders

Taxes are “an often misunderstood” tool of social justice and should not be seen as an example of a government overstepping its powers, Pope Francis told an audience of Italian business leaders on Monday.

The Argentine-born pope spoke ahead of a general election on Sept. 25 in Italy, a country noted for endemic tax evasion, where a right-wing coalition promising major tax cuts is on course for a clear victory.

“What taxes and duties are in the modern world and democracies is very important, [they are] an often misunderstood form of sharing,” Francis told members of Confindustria, Italy’s main business lobby.

If it’s being taken involuntarily, it’s not sharing.

In his speech, the pope also urged business leaders to share their wealth in other ways, including through charity, sticking to fair wage policies and creating new jobs, particularly for young people.

Easy for him to say. Does the Pope actually have to make a payroll himself? How much of the Vatican’s money is not spent yearly? Fair wage policies often make hiring extra people difficult. It’s kinda like all those people who demand a “living minimum wage” but do not actually run a business. Regardless, why is the Pope getting involved? He’s a man of God, not a politician. Maybe he could share by opening up the Vatican archives.

“The tax system and administration must be efficient and not corrupt. But taxes should not be considered as usurpation,” he added.

Except, it is an usurpation. It is taking the fruits of someone’s labor by force. To be clear, the Bible is not against taxation, because, ultimately, everything is God’s. And Jesus preached about giving and giving back. There’s nothing wrong with either. But, most tax systems are corrupt, or, at least, corrupted by those who run them.

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