DELEGATES at the on- going National Conference Tuesday voted that henceforth, Churches and Mosques will be paying tax to the federal government, just as they also agreed that Federal and state governments should no longer fund Christian and Muslim pilgrimages to the Holy lands.
These were part of the resolutions reached yesterday during discussions of report of Religion Committee.
The decision to make religious bodies pay taxes came up when a delegate representing Civil Organisations, Mallam Naseer Kura during his contribution on the report had raised it that religious leaders were making much money and should be taxed.
Also in his contribution, a delegate representing the Nigeria Guild of Editors, Isaac Ighure however frowned at the situation where pastors and heads of churches make too much money with some of them owning private jets, just as he stressed that they should be made to pay taxes and the elite class must stop abusing the little ones in the society, “some people buy private jets when people in their churches are suffering and living in abject poverty, they should be made to pay taxes.” Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Yes O! That is their business so, they have to pay income tax.
ReplyDeleteKudos! And thank you Naseer Kura for such a bold suggestion. Thank you ONFAB members for agreeing to resolve in favour of the suggestion. This is the best piece of news I have heard in decades! One pastor owns 3 private jets and monumental property all over Nigeria and abroad; he is even being tried for laundering out of the UK, but I know of a member of his congregation in Nigeria who died because of minor complications during childbirth. But this is not the end with churches and mosques alone ... the day Nigeria re-introduces the Jangali (|Fulani cattle) tax, the havoc being wrecked on innocent farming communities by herdsmen in the country will end. Why do I say so? When the herdsmen pay tax, they will know that they are not grazing on 'no man's land'. Their forebear of most recent memory, Alhaji Sir Ahmadu Bello was wiase enough to realize that when he maintained the Jangali tax we inherited from the colonial administration ... he was a great Fulani man!
ReplyDeleteIf Nigeria should follow international approach to taxes paid by religious bodies, the institutions should be exempted from taxes but the individual members that earn their daily bread from the churches or mosques should pay taxes without exemption. Let me use The Redeemed Church as a practical example, Pastor Adeboye and all his subordinate Pastors should pay taxes as individual workers of the church. Funds realized as tithes and other collections should be tax exempt. This is the practice world wide. We must remember that the growth of the church/mosque depended on the contributions from members. The funds, realized should be used wisely for the progress of the religious bodies not for personal use. In passing, I agree that individual workers in the vineyard should pay applicable taxes as promulgated by law.
ReplyDeletewhat a futile ?
ReplyDeleteIt is not paying the tax that is the issue. Surely like the pensions someone will embezzle the money. How is our oil money being used? Some pastors are not doing anything good but how many people actually pay their due taxes in this country except civil servants?
ReplyDeleteIt is not the tax that is the problem but what happens to the money collected. Some people will just embezzle it (without paying tax). Some pastors are good. Some need the jets just like some business men do. But how many Nigerians pay tax apart from the civil servants. The house had better discuss how to really tax Nigerians as done in other countries, we may generate more money than from oil.
ReplyDelete