Christian Views on the Ethics of Tax Evasion

Abstract

One hesitates to make general statements about "Christian" views on anything, given the fact that Christians of various sects have persecuted and even killed each other (not to mention Jews and Muslims) over the centuries because of doctrinal disputes. Nevertheless, I will attempt to make some general statements regarding Christian doctrine on the ethics of tax evasion. The literature on this topic is scant, or at least was scant until recently. Therefore, I will necessarily be limited in my discussion to some Biblical passages, a few recent articles, the views of some Popes and a doctoral dissertation that was written in the 1940s.

Keywords: Christian, tax evasion, ethics

JEL Classification: H26, D63