page 12 page 18 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (U.S.A) Offi ce of the General Assembly 100 Witherspoon St., Louisville, KY 40202 502-569-5424 --
[email protected] THE REV. DR. GRADYE PARSONS STATED CLERK OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY November 2014 Dear Members and Friends of the Presbyterian Church, Elected Leaders at all levels of government, and persons concerned with tax policy: This report contains an ethical and economic case for a fairer tax code. Using data sets on poverty, inequality, and the effects of taxation, and using criteria derived from long-standing Biblical and theological commitments, the report addresses personal and corporate tax issues, and puts them in international context. The pages that follow begin with the policy positions printed in bold type, and then follow with supporting data analysis and documentation. An appendix looks at the Protestant Christian traditions that inspired support for our nation’s fi rst permanent progressive income tax more than a century ago. I write to persons within and outside our church in my capacity as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, the highest policy mak- ing body of our denomination, to confi rm that this policy statement was approved by the 221st General Assembly of the Presby- terian Church (U.S.A.) on June 19, 2014, meeting in Detroit, Michigan. Social witness policies of this kind are part of the larger public witness of our church and are advisory to our members, congregations, and councils. They appeal to the Christian con- science and more broadly to the ethical concerns for the common good shared by all citizens.