render unto Caesar

Etymology

From the Holy Bible (Matthew, 22, 21): Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.”

Verb

render unto Caesar

1. (idiomatic) To give (something) to one's state or government, especially in the form of a tax payment.
   • 1997, Nora Roberts, Holding the Dream, →ISBN, (Google preview):

     [S]he . . . made a note to suggest that her client ease some of the last quarter's profits into tax-free bonds. Render unto Caesar, sure, she thought, but not one damn penny more than necessary.

   • 2002 July 1, Lance Morrow, "God Knows What the Court Was Thinking," Time (retrieved 1 July 2016):

     Still, the ideal solution, I think, would be to render unto Caesar an affirmation of flag and country but to keep God in our hearts.

   • 2008 Jan. 21, Sarah Vowell, "Radical love gets a holiday," New York Times (retrieved 1 July 2016):

     They fear that trying to find the homeless homes translates into raising the taxes they must render unto Caesar.