James’s Blog: Tax Return.

Another post from the archives here (April 2011). This one resonated with me more than I expected, and not just because the tax year ended last month. Possibly it’s because the Coronavirus situation and recent health issues for Ruth have thrown up that recurring question for me again – how can one learn to be content in each and every situation?

So, now I am an Australian resident ‘for tax purposes’ I need to fill out a tax return. The Australian financial year runs from July to June, so I’m a bit late with my 2009-2010 return. Actually, I was oblivious to the need to complete one until I received a letter from Centrelink about our Family Assistance benefits last week.

When you have the kind of financial arrangements that we have, filling out a tax return is pretty straightforward. However, I was a bit confused about what we do with gifts that we receive into our UK bank account. Did I have to declare those or not? I finally managed to talk to the Australian Tax Office this morning and they answered my questions very helpfully. They also gave the ‘right’ answer in that I’m no longer being threatened with a bill for unpaid taxes, instead we may be entitled to a refund. This may have some pleasant repercussions for other payments we receive as well.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago a few of us men were talking about what it means to live a life of ‘simplicity’, which is one of the things that we aim for as a Christian community. Benedictine monks took vows of obedience, chastity and poverty. In Cornerstone we try and emulate these with the principles of obedience, purity and simplicity. Simplicity is a tricky concept to grasp. How does one live simply in a society where material needs are easily met? Is my DVD collection too big? Do I have too many clothes? What does it mean to live in simplicity where advertising gurus – knowing full well that our basic needs are met – generate a whole load of new needs by bombarding us with constant messages that we are incomplete unless we have this latest car, holiday, game, house, modern convenience or whatever?

So when I found out that we might be entitled to a refund, I suddenly became anxious about making sure I chased up everybody that I needed to chase up to ensure that we got all the money that we were ‘entitled’ to. On almost immediate reflection, I realised that I was violating Jesus’ command to not worry, but instead of worrying about whether or not I would have enough to eat, I was suddenly worrying about making sure that I would get all that I was owed. It didn’t seem a particularly pleasant place to be.

Sure, if I can claim money that the government has decided that I am entitled to, then I am certainly going to do that, but there was that thread of anxiety which troubled me a bit. It seemed more like greed. Paul, of course, knew what it was to be content in all circumstances – whether hungry or full; clothed or naked; tax-billed or tax-refunded. To me, and this came out in the discussion that we had, simplicity has at its heart the idea of contentment; that my tax status was not to intrude in any measure on the peace of my heart. There was to be no anxiety over a tax bill or a tax refund, because simplicity has at its heart the unshakeable conviction that it is God who provides, and that life does not live in what we possess.

If my DVD collection reflects a lack of contentment with what I possess, then I am not living simply. If the next computer purchase is made with the aim of meeting some sense of spiritual need that I think that I have, then I am not living simply.

Because of the environment of plenty in which we live, it’s sometimes hard to discern where the law of simplicity has been broken, but I find the idea of living simply highly appealing. This is because I find the idea of contentment highly appealing. This is because I find the idea of freedom highly appealing. It is not because I find the idea of tax refunds appealing.