Wasnt it you a week ago or so lecturing me that the US constitution is not decided by the SCOTUS, but instead your own reading of it?
If so, now you are arguing the opposite, that we sin if we dont do what they say
How about if my sales sales tax in Maryland goes to killing babies? How about to taking away guns? Gosh, I lost those forms again an honest mistake.
My reading in the bible says nothing about filling out forms for sales taxes.
I don’t remember having a discussion with anyone last week about the US constitution and SCOTUS. Practically speaking, the constitution says whatever the SCOTUS claims it says, since between them, the legislature, and the executive, they control both a police force and a military that can impose their will upon us.
I still believe that the constitution is actually what it says, and that the SCOTUS can be WRONG about what they THINK it says, but that belief has no practical value.
You have to decide for yourself what a “sin” is; my reading of scripture is that it is a sin to disobey a law that is does not itself cause you to sin. It is a hard lesson, if it was easy they would not have had to teach it.
My argument about sales tax going to kill babies is that when Jesus was asked if it was wrong to pay tax to Rome, he did NOT teach that it was a sin to do so, even though Rome was clearly using it’s power for evil, including eventually crucifying Jesus. But again, you have to decide if the use of taxes is such that it would be a sin to pay them.
Realize that once you make that decision, every liberal in the country will have an “equal footing” to assert they don’t have to pay taxes to support wars they don’t agree with, or to enforce laws like voter ID and immigration laws if they think they are “immoral”. We use government as a means to determine the morality of the majority, and to allow a limited enforcement of that morality, and pushing anarchy for freedom is a dangerous thing — a little anarchy may work well, but only to a point.
If everybody decided not to pay any of their taxes, government would crumble, and unless you are arguing that anarchy is the preferable outcome, we DO need to collect taxes to pay for the legitimate business of government, something the Founding Fathers agreed upon.
I don’t see taxes as inherently immoral. And as taxes go, I think the sales tax is a very GOOD way to collect the money needed for government, because it applies to money you clearly HAD since you are spending it, and it applies equally to everybody based on their similar actions (buying the same items, you pay the same tax as the liberal down the street, or the rich man in the mansion), and you have control over the tax you pay because you can choose not to spend the money (better in states where they don’t tax food purchases).
I believe taxes are fairer if they are applied at a low amount, across the entire population, in an even manner. That is the sales tax, EXCEPT if people cheat by not paying the tax. Then those who buy locally or who follow the law for internet purchases assume a larger part of the burden of government, while those who buy online and violate the reporting laws get their government services without paying their equal share.
And while I might well agree with you that the sales tax is too high and should be lowered, I cannot agree with you that I should pay more sales tax than you pay, if we buy the same things in the same state and get the same services. If everybody who bought online paid their required sales tax, my tax burden might actually go down — because Virginia just passed a law RAISING the sales tax to cover the shortfall from those who don’t pay the tax.