Focus Text: Matthew 22:15-22

Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God's.

 

Pastoral Reflection by Rev. Jack McKinney, former pastor, Pullen Memorial Baptist Church

The payment of taxes is one of the ways we demonstrate we are an extended family as citizens of this state and nation. While we hardly agree on how much we should be taxed, or how our taxes should be used, there is agreement that the burden falls to all of us in some measure. But here is where my family metaphor breaks down in discussing tax policy. Whereas we would never expect a family member with few resources to pay as much of his or her money for the family’s living expenses as another family member with greater resources, our current tax system does just that. Or worse.

 

Key Fact

North Carolina’s revenue system is broken and outdated.  The state and local tax system was designed during the Great Depression for an agriculture- and manufacturing-based economy.  Today, North Carolina is a hub of medical and technological research and industry; numerous large multi-state corporations call North Carolina home.  North Carolina's tax system isn't designed for such a system.