Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

10-25-2005

SSRN Discipline

PSN Subject Matter eJournals; *Humanities - Forthcoming Areas; Political Economy - Comparative eJournals; Religious Studies Research Network; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; Tax Law & Policy eJournals; Public Economics eJournals; Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence & Legal Philosophy eJournals; ERN Subject Matter eJournals; Economics Research Network; Legal Scholarship Network; PRN Subject Matter eJournals; Philosophy Research Network; Political Economy - International eJournals; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; Law & Society eJournals; Law & Society: Public Law eJournals; Law School Research Papers - Public Law & Legal Theory; Humanities Network; Political Science Network

Abstract

This article severely criticizes the Bush Administrations tax policies under the moral principles of JudeoChristian ethics I first document that JudeoChristian ethics is the most relevant moral analysis for tax policy because almost eighty percent of Americans and well over ninety percent of the Congress including President Bush claim to adhere to the Christian or Jewish faiths I also show that evaluating federal tax policy under JudeoChristian principles not only passes constitutional muster but is also appropriate under the norms of a democracy I then provide a complete theological framework that can be applied to any tax policy structure Using sources that include leading Evangelical and other Protestant scholars Papal Encyclicals and Jewish scholars I prove that tax policy structures meeting the moral principles of JudeoChristian ethics must raise adequate revenues that not only cover the needs of the minimum state but also ensure that all citizens have a reasonable opportunity to reach their potential Among other things reasonable opportunity requires adequate education healthcare job training and housing Using these theological sources I also establish that flat and consumption tax regimes which shift a large part of the burden to the middle classes are immoral Consequently JudeoChristian based tax policy requires the tax burden to be allocated under a moderately progressive regime I discuss the difficulties of defining that precisely and also conclude that confiscatory tax policy approaching a socialistic framework is also immoral I then apply this JudeoChristian ethical analysis to the first term Bush Administrations tax cuts and find those policies to be morally problematic Using a wealth of sources I then establish that the moral values driving the Bush Administrations tax policy decisions reflect objectivist ethics a form of atheism that exalts individual property rights over all other moral considerations Given the overwhelming adherence to Christianity and Judaism I conclude that President Bush many members of Congress and many Americans are not meeting the moral obligations of their faiths and I argue that tax policy must start reflecting genuine JudeoChristian values if the country is to survive in the long run

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