Article 1, Section 7, Paragraph 1
All Bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills.
All Bills for Raising Revenue
Taxation has to originate as a law from our Government.
A bill is a formal petition. It is a declaration in writing (Noah Webster’s Original American Dictionary).
Revenue is money that is gained from a source.
This issue is a very touchy one. Wars have been waged over this problem. King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, divided Israel’s kingdom over this issue. The Israelites wanted reduced taxation and he instead raised taxes. This caused civil war that went on for years afterwards (I Kings 12).
This problem is as old as government itself. Governments want more revenue, those paying the revenue find it unbearable to pay, and it then has to be forcefully taken.
The photo is of a tablet from Beersheba
with the tax order from the 4th or 5th century B.C.
Our Lord Jesus did not have the answer we want to hear about taxation. He just said, "Pay it but not at your tithe’s expense!"
Luke 20:25, "And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s."
Photo source: Negev, A. The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. 3rd ed. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1996, c1990.
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