The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that individuals and companies have a responsibility for the common good, and thus it is morally obligatory to pay taxes that are due.
The late Pope Francis drew attention to the problems associated with a system that fosters inequality
The Church, from her origins, was a movement of the poor and the powerless. The fact that her founder, Jesus Christ, was born in poor circumstances necessarily made concern for the poor one of its founding commitments.
The framing question for this reflection is whether addressing the national debt from the response to Covid-19 will require cutbacks in expenditure or increased taxation or both
It is not the purpose of this essay to discuss how extensive state spending should be. There is a wide range of views that are compatible with the tradition of Catholic social teaching.
The calls on tax revenues to finance welfare would be diminished if people received a just wage as is called for in Catholic social teaching.
The Second Vatican Council of the early 1960s, which renewed the working of the Catholic Church, calls upon people to work together for the 'common good'.
All individuals, families, civil society organisations and corporations, as well as the state, are responsible for promoting the common good and solidarity.
A Catholic understanding of taxation requires a Catholic understanding of the role of the state.
In this chapter we are concerned with the principles and applications of taxation within Scripture and not the development of a systematic theology.
