The passages in Matthew 22:15-22 describe a situation where Jesus was cornered by the Herodians and the Pharisees about whether or not it was lawful to pay taxes to the emperor. Mark 12:13-17 also discusses attempts to trick Jesus into making a mistake in how he answered this question. Jesus knew the spiteful intentions of the Pharisees, but also knew that whatever his answer was, he would be in danger either way. Clearly, Jesus would not reject the principle that paying taxes to a ruler was an abomination unto God. However, he did acknowledge that money was part of the Gentile state and could be lawfully given to the Gentile state, but only for those things that already belonged to them. Jesus avoided this problem by responding, Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperors, and to God the things that are Gods.

While not all of the governments views are aligned with Christian views, we have an obligation as Christians to fulfill our duties to God as well as our duties to the government. Our taxes help fund programs to support first responders, police, the medical community and welfare programs to assist the poor, the elderly and the homeless, which align with the teachings of Jesus of helping others. Tax planning, if structured in a moral and ethical way, provides help to the less fortunate, and also allows us to live and thrive in a cultivated society.

A fiduciary has an ethical duty to act with the highest degree of honesty and integrity and keep the best interests of its shareholders at the forefront. Additionally, fiduciaries have an ethical obligation to other stakeholders such as customers, employees, investors and partners and a duty to treat their employees fairly, provide a safe working environment, and compensate employees fairly for work performed.

Overall, the fundamental concept of tax planning is honesty, integrity and morality. As long as it is structured to benefit and not harm or violate the public, stakeholders, shareholders or employees, tax planning can be very beneficial to society. From a Christian perspective, our tax obligations are vital to helping those who cannot help themselves.