The Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales has issued reflections on the issue of taxation.
“Render unto Caesar” features 12 chapters covering different aspects of taxation from a Catholic perspective, written by a variety of economists and academics. The aim of the document is to “inform government policy”.
Among the issues tackled in the report are taxation for the purposes of welfare, family taxation and government debt.
The document takes issue with Britain’s current “individualised” form of taxation, saying this this puts single-earner families “at a significant disadvantage”.
Under the current system a couple in which both spouses earn £12,500 per year would be exempt from income tax, however if one spouse earned £25,000 and the other stayed home, they would have to pay tax.
The report said of this, “A family’s tax position should not depend on who within a family does paid work but on the resources the family has at its disposal.”
Instead, taxation should be based on a family’s number of dependents and ability to pay, the report argues.
In a separate chapter about government borrowing and debt, the report describes this as one generation attempting to enrich itself at the expense of the next.
“Taxation in a democracy involves the consent of the electorate. Those future citizens who bear the burden of government debt cannot consent," it says.
Bishop Richard Moth, Chair of the Department for Social Justice said, “Sometimes, people ask why the Church should comment on political and economic matters. However, it is important that public policy in all areas of social life is informed by moral principles."
He added, “It is for this reason that we have commissioned a number of experts to offer their analysis of this complex question.
"We offer this document as a contribution to the process of deliberation that needs to take place amongst all people of goodwill.”
