Tax Bus Blog Thursday: Tax justice for you and me



Scottish Church Leaders in Edinburgh with the Tax Bus yesterday



The Tax Justice Tour continues its journey across Scotland today. Having had stops in Dumfries and Alloway, Glasgow and Edinburgh earlier this week, today it is in St Andrews before travelling on to Inverness tomorrow. 

Yesterday I got a chance to visit the Tax bus as it sat in Bristo Square in Edinburgh.  Now I have to confess that I find understanding finance “challenging!”  When it comes to numbers, I feel a cloud of confusion descending on my brain and a strong urge to bury my head in the sand follows; however, I have come to the conclusion that this issue is too important to ignore.  And I have begun to realise, as I meet and talk with others for whom the penny has dropped, others who have also begun to engage with the issue of tax justice, that perhaps my urge isn’t unique – perhaps big corporations actually count on our ostrich-like inclinations. 

We cannot allow that to be the case anymore – our brothers and sisters who are daily being more marginalised by the extreme profit margins of tax-dodging companies are counting on us to start counting the tax cost. 

As I visited the bus, I was struck by the potential impact of this awareness-raising, education- offering tool! I met dedicated people whose knowledge and commitment to seeking tax justice planted seeds in others who left more informed and more empowered. Hopefully, they will go out and spread the message; hopefully they will be encouraged to believe that their voice can make a difference - write messages to leaders or go on rallies or lobby centres of power. Hopefully they will not go back to the default position of adopting the ostrich position.

If you’ve not been able to get to the Tax Bus or if you’d like more information about tax justice, then Christian Aid Scotland and the Church of Scotland are happy to come to speak to your congregation or a group linked with your church.  Please get in touch by emailing churchandsociety@cofscotland.org.uk  

We’ve also prepared some prayer and worship resources on the theme of poverty and tax which you are welcome to download and use.  October 17th is International Poverty Eradication Day - a great chance to use these resources to engage with this complex issue.

21 September – a day of prayer for peace

Today is the UN International Day of Peace, and the World Council of Churches Day of Prayer for Peace.  21 September is increasingly being established in the Church calendar as a day of reflection and action for a more peaceful and just world.

Our partners in the British Baptist-Methodist-United Reformed Church Joint Public Issues Team have prepared resources for today, which can also be used on Sunday (Peacemaking Sunday is the Sunday closest to the 21 Sept). 

The focus for this year’s Peacemaking Sunday is around global attempts to introduce an Arms Trade Treaty, which has been the focus of campaigns for many years and which has been strongly supported by the Churches.

As the conflict in Syria continues, it is right that we take time to stop and remind ourselves of the importance of peace, the complexity of securing it, and how lucky we are to live where there is peace.

This prayer is taken from the Peacemaking Sunday resources, and is a prayer for peacemakers:

A prayer for peacemakers everywhere...
Lord, we pray for all those people who in the coming week will try to be the means of bringing peace to situations of conflict and confusion.

We pray for politicians and leaders who are working to bring warring countries and factions to the negotiating table. We especially remember the work of the United Nations. We ask for wisdom and insight for deal makers In the corridors of power, we ask for protection for the 17 UN peace operations deployed across the globe. We pray for safe and successful missions in Haiti, the Western Sahara, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, the Congo, Sudan, Kosovo, Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and East Timor.

We pray for countries where democracy is fragile and the rule of law is vulnerable.

We pray for ACAS, and their work in the UK to mediate where there are disputes within the workplace.

We pray for counsellors, trying to bring reconciliation to families where husbands are divided from wives, and one generation estranged from another.

We pray for our own churches. We ask for your forgiveness for our petty fallings out, for our very public disputes about how we interpret Scripture and about how we hold holiness and inclusiveness in tension.

Finally, Lord, where there is conflict in our own lives, perhaps even in our own hearts, may we become more submissive to you and the ways in which you call us to live, which are always the best. Amen.