Tax Analyst, Francis Timore Boi believes it would be more beneficial for churches to continue to be exempted from taxes on their income, rather than being incentivised.
Timore Boi’s viewpoint follows the announcement by New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, that his government encourage churches to embark on more developmental initiatives rather than taxing them.
According to the Vice President, churches are well-positioned to collaborate with the government in driving development in the country. This statement was made amidst initial discussions about the potential of taxing churches.
However, Dr Bawumia is against this idea, citing the significant role churches play in society.
Expressing his views on the feasibility of incentivising churches in an interview on Citi FM, Mr Timore Boi said it would not be a good idea to incentivise churches with taxpayers’ money.
He suggested that, the best cause of action would be to continue exempting churches from paying taxes on their income.
However, he believes that it would be appropriate to tax the business income of churches.
“I am not sure it will be perfect to take taxpayers money and say we are giving some incentives to the church. The best we can do is to continue exempting them from their income like the offerings and the tithes. Because the idea is that they are going to use it for other charitable purposes.
“So regarding the business income of the church, I think other countries do it. So if we decide to enforce it, that will be a right direction.”
“However, taking money in order to give it to them, I think that will be overreaching our agenda for incentivising these charitable organisations. I will not subscribe to that. Maybe we can continue to exempt them from the taxes that they are supposed to pay from the proper church income, not the commercial income of the church,” he stated.
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