Christian missionaries Rembertus Cornelis Beerepoot and Fanny Alida Beerepoot have been ordered by the Supreme Court of Tasmania to pay $1.159 million and $1.166 million respectively to the Australian Taxation Office after they claimed that taxation law was opposing the will of God.
"We believe that the constitution affirms the fact that the Commonwealth resides within the jurisdiction of the law of the Almighty God and the law of the Almighty God is the supreme law of this land", Rembertus Beerepoot told the court. "We rely on the blessings we receive from God which we give to him and not to an outside entity such as the tax office".
Associate Justice Stephen Holt, however, wasn't impressed by the missionaries' statement.
"If you can't find me a passage in scripture or gospel that says 'thou shall not pay tax' then can you see I have difficulty finding a starting point", he said.
The couple previously sent letters to the Queen and PM last month, questioning the validity of the tax legislation. Beerepoot also said that Australia was moving "outside of God's jurisdiction", which brings curses on the country, like droughts and infertility.
