A lecturer at the University of Ghana Business School Dr Kobby Mensah has joined calls for the Church to be taxed.
He believes that taxing the church will expand the tax net in the country and provide more money for the country in order to ensure the needed development.
In a tweet he said, “Tax the church to expand the tax net. Most of the people are there”.
Over the years, there have been calls for the government to rescind its decision on not taxing churches.
Government has not fallen for the pressure but instead taxes citizens across board in order to provide income for the country.
The conspicuous extravagant and glamorous lifestyle of certain pastors and church owners in Ghana has long been sparking conversations and debates on the need for these churches to pay taxes to the government.
Some of these pastors, whom the public refers to as celebrities, control millions of dollars, evident in their opulent lifestyle.
On April 25, 2022, General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Dr Cyril G. K. Fayose in an interview with the B&FT said taxing churches will be double taxing.
“Many people in the congregation already honour their tax obligations to the government and imposing another tax on registered charity organisations like the Church, which thrives on donations and gifts, is not advisable”, he told B&FT.
He added that church businesses including universities and hospitals pay taxes, and further attempts to levy a direct tax on church revenue will amount to double taxation.
Data from the Christian Council shows that 40 per cent of education and healthcare in Ghana is provided by churches, as their contribution to the country’s growth. Ghana is currently working to pass the Charities Law, a regulation which among other things, seeks to exempt churches from being levied.
Church tax in other jurisdictions
A church tax is collected in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Sweden, some parts of Switzerland and several other countries.
The immediate past Ag. Commissioner of South African Revenue Service (SARS), Mark Kingon, before he left office, made it clear that the revenue service would ensure religious institutions – which are usually exempt from tax – are tax compliant.
Mr. Kingon stated that SARS will, in all likelihood, conduct lifestyle audits on certain employees of religious institutions in order to ascertain whether they are indeed being taxed correctly, and that they are not, in fact, avoiding taxes that they rightfully owe.
The SARS, he said, may start by confirming that religious institutions in South Africa are, in fact, registered as Public Benefit Organisations (PBOs), with tax exemption units, while critically ensuring that some church employees are not being paid unreasonably high salaries, a situation which could lead to the Church losing its status as a PBO in that country.
