Another Jewish Tax Innovation
By TED ROBERTS, the SCRIBBLER ON THE ROOF
We Jews are the inspiration of every innovation in the wide, wide
world – maybe a slight exaggeration, but basically correct. We held the torch of truth in every nook and cranny of our dynamic spinning world.
Take taxes. Maybe some pre-biblical civilization imposed it on their
subjects, but it’s not recorded. (Maybe they were ashamed of it.)
But look in Genesis. Moses, inspired not by the IRS, but by the Creator of shekels, pounds, dollars, yen, and ruble levies a half shekel tax.
A census shall be taken, says the Lord to Moses, and you’ll extract half a shekel for the sanctuary. The language is a little convoluted – almost as though the half shekel is a ransom or a guilt offering. Broad-minded readers can see a glimpse of later Christian practices that trafficked in atonement merchandising and
even worse, indulgences. (Give the church ten bucks if tomorrow you intend to commit adultery with Betty Sue. You’ll be off the hook. This was a mechanism frowned upon and dropped by Protestantism.)
So, this was the beginning. This half shekel donation that went toward the maintenance of the sanctuary or the Mishkan, as we called it later. Not so bad by current standards and maybe even deductible from the “federal” Israelite tax that came later. One attractive feature of this levy – besides its small amount is that it was a flat
tax – another “first” for Judaism!
Everyone dropped his half shekel in the collection plate. “The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less,” said the head of the Israelite IRS – Moses or maybe even G-d. A small enough price
for “atonement”. The money is clearly for the maintenance of the Mishkan.
As usual – as in all human affairs – there is an undercurrent of politics; for those who serve in the many sacrificial activities – assumedly the Levites – shared in this largess. The poor, hardworking Israelite who put up with this tax as well as the sands of Sinai, which penetrated their food, clothes, and the crevices between their toes, can’t imagine how much more complex their 1040 will be in 2015.
A whole new industry will spring up; CPAs, accountants, tax lawyers.
The people, evidently feeling leaderless, asked Samuel the prophet to appoint a king over them. Samuel consults with G-d, who basically says, OK give them a king, but warn them of the consequences, whereupon Samuel, who has taken political science courses at the Yeshiva, makes speech no. 35, which tells the deluded Israelites about Taxation 101.
“He will take the tenth of your grain.” And much more. You’ll regret it, he tells them. I wonder if that half shekel Mishkan tax was deductible.
All this occurs when the Israelites glance around their world and see that threatening nations with kings – then as today – live in their neighborhood. We, too, want a king, the Israelites scream at Samuel. But Samuel, since he is a prophet and can predict the wheat crop next year, the lottery winner, and taxation policies of a king (ANY KING – they’re all the same) cautions the potential taxpayers. He explains – to paraphrase – that kings love golden palaces, and large armies, voluptuous wives with jeweled fingers, and they reject any food not
served from plates of gold.
And guess who shall pay for the kings’ love of luxury? You, the people, says the prophet. But the people, even as today, thought that rulers gave them the dignity of their heathen neighbor. So, Saul was made king. And then David. Next, Solomon ascended to the throne and people knew why Samuel was a peerless prophet. His nightmare vision of future taxation was astoundingly real.
True, Israel’s empire shined throughout the Mideast, but it was not exactly the light ofZion. Solomon the wise believed in bailout and he shrugged his imperial shoulders at deficits and tried to tax his way to economic health. Upon his death, rebellion broke his kingdom into two pieces, Israel and Judah. As Solomon, himself, states in Ecclesiastes: “There is nothing new under the sun.”
Let’s hope he was wrong.
