Good morning.

Tax matters. 
 
As tax justice campaigners and supporters, you know this already. Tax really, really matters. It’s how we contribute towards the stuff that keeps society going: hospitals, schools, roads and so on.  Tax isn’t the only way that governments raise the money to provide us with these services, but it’s an important element. 
 
Granted, we’re not always pleased with how governments spend those taxes. People have differing priorities:  what’s important to me might, to you, be a humongous waste of money. And when governments are incompetent or corrupt – well, then we pay through gritted teeth.  But a system of taxes is the one we live within. As citizens who’ll inevitably need the stuff that government provides from time to time, it seems fair that we contribute to its upkeep. 
 
It also matters that taxes are taken from us fairly, too, don’t you think?  (Hmm…”fair”, tricky word that. Let’s pretend, just for the length of this newsletter, that we all agree on what fairness looks like!). At the least, it shouldn’t be oppressive to people who’re already struggling.  So, those with little or no income or wealth might not be able to contribute much, if anything, in the way of taxes – for a time at least. And those lucky enough to have more wealth and income are in a good position to make bigger payments.
 
So to duck your taxes seems churlish. Isn’t it greedy and Smaug-like, to try and conceal your good fortune rather than pay a reasonable share?  We might wonder if people REALLY want to be “that guy”?  It makes sense to have a system that stops people from doing this – and that makes sure that poorer people don’t end up paying a higher proportion of their income in taxes, than do the very wealthy.
 
But that’s not what we’ve got, not in the UK and not in many other places around the world. You’d think lots and lots of people would be righteously cross about it – grumbling to their politicians, voting for people who want to put things right, taking action whenever and wherever they could. Especially now, when a pandemic has highlighted so clearly the inequalities in our system, and the way in which the richest have often been further enriched by the crisis – whilst the less well off, including many essential workers – have found life precarious.
 
But many people, very decent folks, don’t do any of that. Mostly, it’s because talking about tax can be intimidating – often, articles on tax are technical, and use words that many people aren’t familiar with. And worse – it’s usually dull!  (Not, of course, if you’re a tax nerd, and I’ll admit I can get pretty fired up about it myself - but for the average person, it’s usually a snooze).
 
So I wonder: would it help faith leaders and congregations to have a little ‘Tax Justice 101’ from us – to show the role tax plays, and what needs changing? There’ll be many of our readers who’re knowledgeable about these things – but I’ll wager there are plenty of people you know who aren’t. Given that fixing our broken tax system is one of the most powerful ways to alleviate poverty, cut inequality and tackle a range of injustices – would Christians value resources that explain, and bring the subject to life, in an accessible and engaging way? If we can give people the confidence to discuss this neglected issue, might that also give them motivation to take simple but effective actions? 
 
Please, let me know, I’d value your views.

Wishing you grace and peace for the coming weekend,
Cat