THE PADRE PIO PRAYER GROUP OF CLEVELAND
  • Faith Answers Home
  • Padre Pio Prayer Group of Cleveland Home
  • Faith Answers Home
  • Padre Pio Prayer Group of Cleveland Home

FAITH ANSWERS

Many people I know travel over the state border here to purchase things, especially alcoholic beverages, since the nearby state's sales tax is much lower. Are there moral objections to avoiding taxes in cases like this?

7/8/2020

Comments

 
Let me state at the outset that I am not a civil lawyer. But let us suppose that there are legitimate laws in place that forbid purchasing and carrying certain items across state lines. Presuming such laws do exist, they ought not to be violated. This would be true even if we suppose that such laws are more likely aimed at large distributors, rather than private citizens. Unless that exception is explicitly indicated in the law or overruled by other constitutional rights, we ought not to simply consider ourselves exempt. 
 
It is a general norm for Catholics that we should obey all just laws enacted by civil authorities if they do not violate God's laws. If such laws displease us, we ought to have recourse, through the political process, to change them, rather than simply ignore them. 
 
If a Catholic knowingly violates just civil laws such as this, the gravity of such a sin varies, based on the frequency, purpose and amount of items purchased. If one were to simply purchase a small number of items, more as a convenience, the gravity of such sin would be rather light. However, if one were to repeatedly purchase a large amount of items, especially if they were going to resell them, this would be a much more egregious violation of civil law, and also bring with it a more significant gravity in violation of moral law related to the 4th Commandment.
Comments

    Author

    "Building our Catholic faith one question at a time."

    The Padre Pio Prayer Group of Cleveland is a community of people dedicated to the devotion and works of St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.

    Archives

    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.