Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni Frimpong, a former General Secretary of the Christian Council, is encouraging the public to advocate for the taxation of donations to political parties before proposing taxes on church offerings.
He contends that churches already fulfill their tax obligations for commercial activities and emphasizes that offerings are voluntary contributions exempt from taxation by law.
In an interview on Adom FM‘s morning show, Dwaso Nsem, Rev. Dr. Opuni Frimpong highlighted that churches engaged in commercial ventures, such as conference centers and guest houses, dutifully meet their tax responsibilities.
He clarified that the call for churches to pay taxes may stem from a lack of awareness that churches primarily exist for non-commercial purposes.
As a Presbyterian pastor, he shared his personal experience, stating, “I am a Presbyterian pastor; at the end of the month, my employer deducts my taxes from the source. By this, before I get my salary, I see all the deductions by way of taxes. Churches with other forms of businesses such as conference centres, guest houses etc, they pay their taxes accurately. When people keep saying that churches should pay taxes, we must bear in mind that it is not as though churches engage in commercial activities, but those that have some components of commercial businesses pay their taxes. So, churches pay taxes already.”
Rev. Dr. Opuni Frimpong proposed that if there is consideration for taxing voluntary contributions, the government and the public should start with political parties.
He urged, “But I believe that people keep making these arguments because of the offerings we take. Consider this, as a country we do not tax any voluntary contribution. Before you ask churches to pay taxes, any time NPP and NDC meet in their respective party meetings, they should pay taxes on their contributions.”