Tax Reform as a Religious Issue
Susan Pace Hamill, a member of Tuscaloosa’s Trinity United
Methodist church and a professor at the University of Alabama
Law School (also a graduate of Samford’s Beeson Divinity
School) has become the conscience of our state on matters of
taxation. I’m proud of the work that Susan is doing in
this area.
And she has done so with an approach deeply rooted in the notion
that Jesus judges us on the basis of how we treat “the
least of these among us.”
Professor Hamill says that many of our state’s laws do
more to burden the poor and relieve the rich than vice versa.
She cites the worst states (her “sinful six”) as
Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Nevada, South Dakota, and Texas.
She believes, as do I, that part of kingdom work is pushing
for economic justice, particularly for poor working families.
Tax revenues are essential to fund the reasonable opportunity
for a decent life for all made in the image of God.
She quotes a well-known verse (Luke 12:48) “To whom much
is given, much is required.”
I agree. Our resources as a church and as a state are a means
to “spread scriptural holiness across the land” as
Mr. Wesley taught us. Reform of our tax policy is one important
part of our work for the Kingdom.
Our state legislature’s recent failure to remove the state
portion of the grocery tax disappointed me as I hope it did you.
I pray that the upcoming special session of the legislature will
pass the Tax Fairness Amendment. This amendment would end the
$550 million state income tax deduction for federal taxes, remove
the 4% state portion of the grocery tax, and expand personal
exemptions and the standard deduction raising the income tax
threshold to $20,000 from the current shockingly low $12,600
for a family of four.
I commend Susan Pace Hamill’s work to you, particularly
her book AS CERTAIN AS DEATH (Carolina Academic Press, 2007)
and hope you will join me in praying for and working toward a
more just and equitable tax system for our state. A good way
to involve yourselves and your church in these matters is to
work with and support Alabama Arise, a coalition of 155 faith-based
and community groups (www.alarise.org) a number of whose leaders
(such as Mark Berte) are active United Methodists. Alabama Arise
has all the facts and figures of the Alabama tax problem and
is working hard to change things.
We can do better. With God’s help, we shall.
Will Willimon |
