Citing concerns about the poor and vulnerable in Minnesota in light of a state budget deficit, Minnesota’s Catholic Bishops are calling for an increase in state income taxes.

In their recently released Pastoral Statement, Sharing Our Blessings and Our Burdens, Minnesota’s Catholic bishops urge lawmakers to resist further funding cuts to human service programs to balance the state budget. In the statement, the bishops note, “We believe that we will be judged according to the way in which we respond to the ‘least’ of our brothers and sisters. Because human needs require it and other resources are not available to meet these needs, we believe that it is right and proper to raise income taxes justly and equitably.”

The budget deficit for the upcoming two years is estimated at $700 million or, adjusted for inflation, $1.4 billion, the bishops noted. “The same problem occurred in 2003, when our state faced a budget deficit in the amount of $4.2 billion. To balance the budget then, our legislature cut funding for a wide range of programs and services, adopted payment shifts, raised approximately $400 million through increased fees paid by Minnesotans for various services, and used onetime funding reserves without raising any additional revenues.”

“As a result of the cuts made to services and programs, many struggling Minnesota families face more serious financial difficulties than before, and the needs of many of our children, our poor, our vulnerable, our elderly, our sick and our disabled brothers and sisters went unmet.”

“In Catholic teaching, paying taxes flows from the virtues of justice and love because taxes are one of the means by which we share our blessings with the poor and vulnerable, and build up the common good,” the bishops said.

“Government requires the payment of taxes from its citizens because it has the responsibility to serve the common good, provide a safety net for the vulnerable, defend human life, rights and dignity, overcome discrimination, and ensure equal opportunity for all.”

It is the bishops’ hope that “these increased income taxes, which should be based upon each individual’s ability to pay, will generate adequate revenues to resolve the projected budget deficit for the 2005-2006 biennium, to increase funding to services and programs that were cut during the 2003-2004 biennium, and to invest appropriately in providing a better future for our children.”

For a copy of the Bishops’ Pastoral Statement, Sharing Our Blessings and Our Burdens, a Pastoral Statement on Taxation and the State Budget by the Catholic Bishops of Minnesota, contact the New Ulm Diocesan Office of Social Concerns, 1400 6th Street North, New Ulm, MN 56073; (507) 359-2966; or visit the Minnesota Catholic Conference Web site at www.mncc.org/News.htm