TITHING

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Permalink Reply by Ezra Moore on February 6, 2012 at 3:28am

I suggest that you pray about what you should do, let God lead you. I personally believe that I should tithe on the gross but that is just me. Here is some information from the General Conference that may help answer the question for you. 

Should I tithe on the "net" or the "gross"? 
Your question is one that is frequently asked, and there are several aspects that need to be considered in answering it.

1. The primary purpose of tithing is not so much to collect the money, but rather to help individuals integrate the lordship of Jesus Christ into every area of life, especially the area of finance and material possessions.
2. It is important that each person have the experience of tithing as an act of worship to God.
3. The principle of tithing is based on the concept of increase gained by the individual or family. The individual should tithe on all those areas which would be considered direct increase and not related to direct expenses in producing a product or service, etc. The key principle is that we tithe on the increase. (Lev. 27:30-33).

When it comes to taxes, we need to realize that they are normally part of our "increase" because we do receive services in return for them. (We may not like or appreciate those services, but we do receive services.) So most people tax on their gross income if they are on salary. There is also the issue of who we place first--God or the government. 
Most people who own and run their own business tend to tithe on their net profit after deducting their business expenses. Here is where you need to be careful and let the Holy Spirit guide you as to how to consider business expenses. The government many times allows us to deduct things which are really part of "increase", such as when we expand the business, or buy new equipment. Some overlook the fact that if you count equipment purchases and depreciation on equipment as business expenses, you are actually counting the same thing twice as a business expense. In addition, there is a difference between our personal expenses for living which include taxes, and the expenses involved in producing a product or running a business. This would be calculated by deducting the expenses for producing the product or service from the total income--thus calculating the increase.

http://www.adventist.org.my/departments_stewardship.htm#Should I ti...

God bless you in your search for truth. 

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