The Christian brother and sister ordered to pay a $2.3-million bill after refusing to pay income tax on the grounds it "goes against God's will" are Tasmanian honey farmers who have made headlines before.

Key points: The brother and sister have been ordered to pay more than $2 million in unpaid taxes and other fees

The brother and sister have been ordered to pay more than $2 million in unpaid taxes and other fees On their website they say they are Dutch migrants who arrived in the 1980s

On their website they say they are Dutch migrants who arrived in the 1980s The family runs a honey farm and store in Tasmania's north, which has been described as a vital to their small town

Fanny Alida Beerepoot and her brother Rembertus 'Remmo' Cornelis Beerepoot both refused to pay an estimated $930,000 in income tax on the grounds paying taxes "goes against God's will".

Representing themselves in Hobart's Supreme Court on Wednesday, they said transferring their allegiance from God to the Commonwealth would mean "rebelling against God" and "breaking the first commandment", adding that the payment of taxes was causing Australia to be cursed with "droughts and infertility".

In little under three hours, a Tasmanian Supreme Court Associate Justice found their arguments to be unviable and ordered the brother and sister repay the Australian Tax Office $1.159 million and $1.166 million respectively.

So who is this devout Christian family who have previously made news headlines and how did they come to rack up a tax debt of more than $2 million?

What do we know about them?

The Beerepoots operate the Melita Honey Farm at Chudleigh, about an hour's drive west of Launceston in Tasmania's north.

Their business's website states the family are Dutch and migrated to Australia in the early 1980s, first spending 15 years in Western Australia before moving to Tasmania "because of its beauty, European feel and cooler climate".

Of Chudleigh, they said "it was not difficult to settle in this piece of paradise".

The family also consists of the siblings' mother Alida 'Lida' Beerepoot.

Father Hendricus 'Henk' Beerepoot passed away in 2013, according to a website named Caleb's Journal which is linked to from the Melita Honey Farm site and contains numerous religious writings including Henk's own.

The Melita Honey Farm store in Chudleigh is a tourist drawcard. ( ABC News: Jess Moran )

The Melita farm sells a range of goods besides honey, including other food and health and wellbeing products.

"Fanny has a background in clinical nutrition and loves to talk about the medicinal and nutritional values of our Tasmanian Manuka honey," the website states.

"Lida and Fanny look after the feminine side of the shop, that is, they make sure everything looks pretty.

"Remmo has artistic input. He designs the labels, point of sale material and this website.

"Our greatest joy and blessing is to work with honey and to interact with our customers."

The ABC contacted the Beerepoot family as part of this story but they declined to comment.

What do they believe?

After taking an oath on the King James Bible in court on Wednesday, Fanny Beerepoot told the court her full-time occupation was to serve the Lord.

Which denomination of the Christian faith they subscribe to remains unclear.

On Caleb's Journal, the family say they "would like to share with you the journey that we are on as we walk into the Promised Land and the signposts that our Father is showing us along the way".

The site contains sections on Biblical astronomy, biography, geography and law as well as photos of the family.

The journal also refutes the popular Bible passage "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's", which supports paying taxes.

An entry titled Government and the First Commandment reads:

"Through this process of validation one 'renders to Caesar' that which belongs to God — since 'Caesar' has encroached upon the jurisdiction of God. Caesar is placed on God's throne, thereby the First Commandment is violated (Exodus 20:3)."

The tax case was not the first time the family has made has attracted media attention.

In 2017, the Beerepoots made headlines when the Meander Valley Council said they had failed to pay more than $9,000 worth of rates on three properties — one at Mole Creek and two at Chudleigh which make up the honey farm.

"They steadfastly reaffirmed their belief that the land was not theirs, but that of the Heavenly Father, that the council would be taking the land from him and that was a matter between council and God," a council report read.

An "anonymous source" paid for the rates on the Chudleigh properties, which the mayor attributed to a recognition of the importance of the farm to the local community.

However, about $3,000 worth of rates on the Mole Creek property went unpaid and it was seized by the council that year and sold for $120,000.

This Mole Creek property formerly owned by the Beerepoot family was sold at auction after they refused to pay rates. ( ABC News: Jess Moran )

Where did the money come from?

While the family's charitable income was mentioned in court, the source of the tax bill was not contained in Wednesday's judgment.

A search of the family's business holdings also sheds no light.

An ASIC search produces no current business holdings for Alida, Fanny or Rembertus Beerepoot.

Alida is listed as a holder of two companies, one in WA which has been cancelled and one that relates to the Mole Creek property that was sold and now has a different owner.

The same property was later resold with a $100,000 surplus, which the Meander Valley Council attempted to offer the family.

But the Beerepoots refused the money due to the belief that the property belonged to God and the proceeds were God's, not theirs.

There is not a current listing for the Melita Honey Farm.

A past listing for the farm shows the business name was registered in 2009 but cancelled in 2015.

Rembertus Beerepoot (L) and Fanny Beerepoot (R) leave the Supreme Court of Tasmania with their mother Alida. ( ABC News: Phoebe Hosier )

All four Beerepoot family members — Hendricus, Alida, Rembertus and Fanny — are listed on the title for the Chudleigh address of their honey farm.

It is not known if the farm is now listed under a different business name.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission also found no signs on its register of a charity listed under their last name.

How often does a case like this crop up in Australian courtrooms?

Alex Deagon, a senior lecturer in constitutional law and religious freedom with Queensland University of Technology, said it was a very unique and surprising case that raised "issues in the justification of civil disobedience".

Dr Deagon said as debates on topics such as religious freedom and same-sex marriage increased, it was likely the number of similar cases in courtrooms across Australia would rise.

"It raises much more difficult broader issues such as that we have secular officials in a secular legal system making theological judgements," he said.

"In this case it was relatively straight-forward, but in others it might not be and it raises a question about whether judges have the requisite expertise to be making these theological pronouncements which could impact on the rights, liberties and finances of religious and non-religious citizens."

Tasmanian Liberal senator Eric Abetz also weighed in on the case, saying he was of the view Christians should pay taxes.

"It is clearly the Christian world view [to pay taxes] since the good Lord himself spoke those words," Senator Abetz said.

"All freedoms are fenced in to a certain extent, so our freedom of speech is curtailed by defamation laws — similarly freedom of religion cannot be used as a pretext to not pay taxes."

What has the community reaction been?

The ABC spoke to several residents in Chudleigh who said they supported the family, others believed they should now pay their way.

Neighbour Barbara Daw described them as "kind", "honest" and "dependable" people who had greatly contributed to the Chudleigh community.

"They're the kind of people where if you were in trouble in the middle of the night they would come running," she said.

"It will be a shame if the honey farm has to be sold … but I think in this day and age we all have to pay our rates unless we comply with the regulations that qualify us not to have to pay our taxes."

Mandy Wyer says she "shudders to think what would happen" if the Melita Honey Farm closed. ( ABC News: Jessica Moran )

Chudleigh resident Rainier Howe said the community was split on the issue.

"A lot say they should pay up like the rest of us but we all have different ideas and beliefs," he said.

"I think they might be on their own this time. I think it might have gone too far for anyone to support them that much because it's a lot of money."

General store owner Mandy Wyer described the honey farm as the artery of the community, and said she was gobsmacked to hear how much tax debt they owed.

She said they had brought in busloads of international visitors "but I don't know how they're ever going to pay that amount of money".

"I shudder to think what would happen if that shop was forced to close," she said.