All posts tagged: Taxes

Taxes and the Bible

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According to a recent report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, the average American family spent more money paying their taxes, than they did to buy such essentials as food, clothing and medical care. According to the reports, that year the average American family handed over $16,729.73 for their federal, state, and municipal taxes while only paying $15,495.28 for their food, clothing and medical bills. Taxes, unfortunately, are a necessary part of government. And in the Gospels, we have an odd collaboration taking place when the Herodians and the Pharisees joined up to try to attack Christ on the issue of taxes (Matthew 22:15-22). The Herodians were a group of Jews who actually supported Herod and Rome, while the Pharisees were on the opposite end of the political spectrum. They believed in a national Israel, free from Rome. But that old saying my enemy’s enemy is my friend rang true here. The two had one common enemy, Jesus, and because of that, they could be friends for a few minutes. And the two …

When taxes get too high

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A recent article by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) provided a list of the top ten most taxed states in America, and they broke it down in an unusual way. They looked at the total amount of taxes a person paid in their lifetime. According to FEE, you would be a millionaire if you lived in New Jersey and were able to keep all the taxes you paid over the course of your life, that amounted to $932,000 or about half a person’s lifetime earnings (49.51%). This compared to the average amount of taxes, $525,037, paid by Americans in their lifetime. So by just moving to an average tax state an American family could potentially save over $400,000 in a lifetime. But we need to understand the actual tax bite varied because the average wage also differed by state. Though some states paid less lifetime taxes, their average wage was also less turning it into a proportionally higher tax rates. So based on percentages, here is the amount paid by the top ten highest …

Celebrating the Feast of Silvester in Burserberg, Austria. The feast which falls on December 31st marks the death of Pope Sylvester I who died on that day in 335 AD. The feast is celebrated in many European nations. Photo: BRainy Photography/Flickr/Creative Commons

Top ten stories of 2015

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It has been an eventful year, so what were the top most read stories on opentheword.org?  From first to tenth, actually eleventh due to a virtual tie for last place, here they are: Did the Bible predict beheadings by Muslim extremists? With gruesome stories coming out of the Middle East about ISIS beheading Christians, it is not surprising many Christians are wondering if this was mentioned at all in the Bible particularly as it related to the end times. Not surprisingly it does. This story topped the list with 7,868 reads in 2015. Sir Isaac Newton predicted world would end in 2060 AD End times events are on many people’s minds these days. Researchers studying the writings of Sir Isaac Newton, who died in 1727 AD, stumbled upon his prediction when Christ would return. Newton studied the Bible and particularly end time events. Why did he date Christ’s return to centuries later — in our day?   One more thing, from his study Newton also determined that Israel had to be restored back to the Promised …

King Solomon’s lame excuse for high taxes

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The recent discovery of a palace and tax collection building belonging to King David is a bit ironic. It was the first major discovery of buildings connected to King David in Israel. It’s ironic a tax collection building was part of this significant find, because years later it was the tax policy of David’s grandson that ripped Israel in half — forming Judah and Israel. The problems started when David’s son Solomon became king. He undertook massive building projects requiring him to raise taxes to pay for them. Though