At this time of year, when we are thinking about wrapping up our year and getting receipts to lower the income tax we must pay, we are reminded that it is our Christian duty to pay taxes just as it is to return our tenth back to God. In Matthew 22:21, Jesus says: “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” Just as our tax is figured to “come off the top”, so is giving to God to be our priority.
In Caesar’s time, there was no government recognition of what believers gave to God, but now government appreciates the good work of churches and charities and returns back to you in the form of a tax credit a significant portion of what you donate to the church.
Based on the official receipts you turn in with your tax return, you can receive a credit that will reduce the tax you must pay.
While each person’s situation is different, some examples are listed below to give you an idea of what this might mean. In recent years, for an annual donation of $200 or less, the tax credit is 15% for federal tax and 9.68% for provincial tax. The portion of annual donations in excess of $200, give tax credits at rate of 29% federal and 17.95% provincial tax. If we look at tax tables, it is clear that for donation amounts over $200, the total credit percentages are actually much higher than the rate at which you pay tax!
For example, for 2014, for annual donation of $1,000, your total tax credit would be $424.96. For a donation of $2,000, your tax credit is $894.46. For an annual donation of $3,000, your tax credit is $1,363.96. An annual donation of $5,000 reduces the tax you pay by a total of $2,302.96. It will probably be quite similar for the current tax returns.
People often wonder how they can reduce the tax they must pay; one of the best ways to reduce your tax is to give to the Lord what is the Lord’s anyway. Although each person’s situation is different, this is probably the most effective way for average working people to reduce their income tax.
People love to growl about the taxes they pay; well, you do have a choice: you can choose to send your money to Ottawa, or you can help support the good work of your church on Grand Manan and get some of it back!
Not only will you be blessed by blessing others and our church through your personal worship of giving, but you will also have your income tax you must pay significantly lowered.
— Eric Allaby
