A Wretched Soul

To answer JVW's question: • On March 19, 1970 the First Presidency issued a statement on tithing: “members of the Church should pay one-tenth of all their interest annually, which is understood to mean income. No one is justified in making any other statement than this. We feel that every member of the Church should be entitled to make his own decision as to what he thinks he owes the Lord, and to make payment accordingly.” • General Handbook of Instructions 34.3.1: “Tithing is the donation of one-tenth of one’s income to God’s Church (see Doctrine and Covenants 119:3–4; interest is understood to mean income). All members who have income should pay tithing.” • “Increase” is the growth of asset value, offset by expenditures. Assets may increase or decrease in value depending on events unrelated to one’s efforts, and there may be no “increase” at all if one consumes all that they earn. Calculating tithing on "increase" is an Old Testament concept predating current economic structures and pay structures, before the world had monetary systems, banks, interest and inflation. • “Income” is earned by one’s own labor or by investments. I believe that the First Presidency’s use of the word “Income” is intentionally clarified and differentiated from “interest” and “increase”. To have chosen another definition would have incurred risks of lower tithing receipts. It seems proper to follow the direction of current church leadership and tithe on “income”, not the Old Testament way of tithing on “increase”, or the 1838 interpretation of tithing the “interest” earned on one’s net worth. Clearly tithing is due on money received for your work, and what your investments earn. "... Inheritances and gifts are clearly "increases" but they aren't "income" derived from "capital or labor", so I don't know what to make of that.

Pondering tithing on after-tax investments, and came up with the following conclusions and questions. Thanks for any insights and feedback 1. The church has been clear that you should tithe on income, not on increase. 2. Investment income (interest and dividends) should be tithed when it is “realized”. a. If investment income is left in an account to grow, it is only tithable after the income is “realized”. b. Investment expenses (such as brokerage, account, and advisor fees, and taxes on the investment) may be deducted when determining tithable investment income. c. Should inflation be factored in when calculating tithable investment income? For example: You invest $100 and it has a $4 gain, but because of inflation the $104 only has the purchasing power of the original $100. Is tithing due on the $4 change in value? (Obviously you can add many more zeros to these example numbers). d. Are increases in market value tithable if they are only due to inflation? For example: Inflation causes the market value of your real estate to increase, yet the “intrinsic value” and purchasing power of the real estate hasn’t changed. When you sell the real estate is the increase in market value tithable, or do you factor out inflation?