Should religious organisations be taxed?

RELIGIOUS organisations are a big, booming industry and a potential source of tax money for the government. Yet, the money that could have been gotten is left on the table because religious organisations cannot be taxed as they are classified as not-for-profit.

This week on WhatsApp conversation, we take a dive into whether religious organisations should be taxed.

 

Daniel Yahaya

Yes. Churches and mosques are businesses. If the business operates as a non-profit, meaning that their income goes right back out in charitable ways, then they won’t be taxed because they didn’t make a profit. If they make money, however, then absolutely they should be taxed like any other business.

Employees of the church or mosque should be taxed on their personal income just like anyone else. If an employee of the church receives tangible assets (cars, homes, planes, etc.), those assets should be taxed.

 

Seun Oladipo

It could lead to an uproar in the long run. A lot of people will see it as an avenue to “kill” religion. It does not take a long time before people in Nigeria read things in the opposite direction, no matter the intentions of the government.

 

Tosin Awoniyi

I think religious bodies should start paying taxes. The reason being that: when churches and mosques own land, they must pay tax for that land, and the reason for this is because that land by the law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria does not belong to that church or mosque but to the Government.

Also, any church or mosque that owns a school must pay tax for that school, and the earnings of that school must be paid for. Churches and mosques that own businesses should also pay tax to the government because most of the religious bodies, especially churches, had built large business empires, including universities, but many of them are not paying tax, and the wealth being made from these businesses was used in buying private Jets.

 

I think paying taxes should be made compulsory for religious bodies because the government does use the taxes to meet the needs of the people and to ensure that the needs of the nation are fulfilled. Taxes are also being paid for public works such as highways and museum and lastly, taxes reduce the amount of money consumers can spend. So I think religious bodies should not be exempted from paying their taxes as well.

 

Popoola Adeshina

The scripture enjoins that we give what belongs to Caesar. The way we pay our house rents and the likes is because it is mandatory.  Likewise, it is important we do that to support the government and the community also. It means there are things that it is expected to do. No matter the religion, tribe, culture, belief, and the likes.

There is an old Arabian proverb: “If the camel once gets his nose in the tent, his body will soon follow.” This expression is especially pertinent in the tax exemption context. Churches are tax-exempt under the principle that there is no surer way to destroy the free exercise of religion than to tax it. Suppose the government is allowed to tax churches (or to condition a tax exemption on a church refraining from the free exercise of religion). In that case, the camel’s nose is under the tent, and its body is sure to follow.

 

Amoo Taiwo

These religious organisations take tithes, offerings, zakat, and yet they don’t pay taxes. The religious organisations are big and the government is content with allowing them to do just corporate social responsibilities. They should be taxed.

 

Mubaraq Alatishe

I believe that after a certain income threshold that religious organisations should be taxed.

There are a lot of mega-churches and mosques out there that bring in lots of money. They are being run as a business, and you know they are profiting off their people and paying their ministers and clerics a large salary. I have visited a few, and my impression is that their sermons are focused on bringing in money than teaching God’s word. Now for smaller churches and mosques that don’t bring in a lot of money, those should stay tax-exempt. Their ministers and clerics are usually hard-working and are more concerned with teaching and helping the community. Mega-churches and mosques are profit-making businesses and should be taxed accordingly.

 

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