English

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 9781101146026, (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.