[KingSnorky]

And just how much in taxes did the Roman Catholic Church pay last year?

[wideawake]

As usual, the actual document will be vastly different than the MSM's blurb about it.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

Not a new position.

“Render unto Caeser that which is Caeser’s, and unto God that which is God’s.”

[Little Ray]

Hmmm. I guess Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians can look forward to a bunch of converts.

[JTHomes]

Wow, the Church colluding with government to fleece and enslave the people. How novel.

[Wonder Warthog]

"He called on the West to promote an equitable world economic system based on social justice rather than profit."

T'only problem is that every time it has been tried under government control, the cure has been worse than the disease.

The only system that seems to work in THIS world is the one that maximizes individual freedom, and lets individuals CHOOSE to be good. Enforced "virtue" ALWAYS turns into tyranny.

[bnelson44]

Social Encyclical Coming Next?
Rome, Aug. 13, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The second encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI will focus on economic issues, Vatican officials say.

The forthcoming encyclical would continue the series of papal statements on Catholic social teaching. The Holy Father is preparing the document for the 40th anniversary of Populorum Progressio, the social encyclical released in 1967 by Pope Paul VI.

The Vatican has not formally confirmed that the Pope is writing an encyclical, nor have officials given any indication of when the document could be released. However in July, as the Pontiff began his vacation in the Alps, Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, told reporters that the Pope would spend part of his time working on a new encyclical. Ignazio Ingrao, who covers the Vatican the Italian magazine Panorama, reports that the focus of the new papal statement will be the process of globalization. Pope Benedict will emphasize the need for economic structures and regulations that promote solidarity and favor the equitable distribution of resources, he said.

In Italy, the Panorama report drew widespread attention because Ingrao predicted that the Pope would explicitly condemn tax evasion. The use of tax havens by wealthy individuals has become a hot topic in that country.

Deus Caritas Est, the long-awaited first encyclical by Benedict XVI, was released in January 2006. Shortly after his election, the Pope disclosed that he did not expect to issue many papal documents— a statement that surprised the many readers familiar with the prolific work of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger prior to his election as Roman Pontiff.

http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=81380

[sourcery]

Taxation is theft. There is nothing morally wrong with evading taxes. Legally, however, although there is no obligation to structure one's activities so as to maximize the amount of taxes due, it is illegal to fail to pay whatever taxes are due based on you actual activities.

[SirLinksalot]

Pope Benedict intends to argue for a world trade and economic system “regulated in such a way as to avoid further injustice and discrimination”

THis is quite intriguing and interesting.

I really like to know who Benedict proposes should be the regulator and how he thinks this regulator ( whoever he/she/they is/are) should actually regulate trade to avoid injustice and discrimination.

I am also interested in reading how "injustice" and "discrimination" will be defined in the context of world trade.

[SirLinksalot]

the pontiff will denounce the use of “tax havens” and offshore bank accounts by wealthy individuals, since this reduces tax revenues for the benefit of society as a whole.

I'm not sure if this is necessarilly true.

What if some wealthy individual reasons to himself saying that he knows better than bureacuracts in Washington how to benefit society as a whole through his judicious use of his money to create jobs that employ thousands of people and to help the poor the best way he thinks he can ?

The above statement makes an assumption that begs a question --- WHY SHOULD REDUCED TAX REVENUES TO GOVERNMENTS (or the UNITED NATIONS -- the ultimate government bureaucracy ) result in LESS BENEFIT to society as a whole ? Has that thesis been proven to everyone's satisfaction ?

[Kellis91789]

I think all this shows is that the Pope has no concept of how an economy works.

The Italian law prompting the Pope’s announcement was specifically targeting people with “conspicuous wealth”. In other words, the people that drive an economy through their own striving for personal rewards. The Italian government, and now the Pope, want to reduce those rewards. If they succeed in reducing the rewards, they’ll also reduce their economy. The only class of people that will continue to work when personal rewards have been taken away are slaves.

The excerpt mentions that the TAXES due that are being evaded are equal to 27% of the Italian GDP. Think about that. The tax “gap” in the US is less than 4% of GDP. The entire US Federal government budget is less than 27% of our GDP. So how much in taxes are Italians paying ? Add what they are PAYING to what they are EVADING, and just how high is the TOTAL TAX collection their government is expecting ?

A tax gap of 27% of GDP is probably a clue that the people have decided taxes are way too high. Maybe they should try lowering the rates and see if that tax gap shrinks. People are more willing to pay a tax they think is fair.

[Continental Soldier]

The Pope is using his position to condemn tax evasion? Is this some kind of joke? Or are we witnessing the final death throes of Christianity? Not long ago, we read that the Pope had proclamations to make about everything from drunk driving to cigarette smoking. Hey, Pope, wasn’t your job the salvation of souls? At what point did you become the stooge for secular government programs?

[Kellis91789]

[Pope Benedict intends to argue for a world trade and economic system “regulated in such a way as to avoid further injustice and discrimination”, ]

And that can be accomplished through the discriminatory selection of wealthy people and the injustice of stealing what is rightfully theirs ?

Successful people are one of those minority groups which cannot be discriminated against, I guess.

And of course, they have no property rights to the fruits of their labors, so stealing from them cannot possibly be an injustice, can it ?

[oblomov]

Good thing for the 1st Amendment.

[ikka]

the pontiff will denounce the use of “tax havens” and offshore bank accounts by wealthy individuals

And the pontiff will be wrong.

[3niner]

So how much tax did the Pope pay last year, while enjoying fabulous wealth, and claiming to adhere to a vow of poverty?

[nicollo]

Hmm... tax evasion more a problem where taxes are higher? Doh!

Btw, the words “tax shelter” were far more important in the U.S. when the income tax rate was at current European levels. Tax statists truly think that income remains static regardless of taxation.