Government will not tax churches - Minister

Accra, Nov. 19, GNA - The Government on Friday denied that the 2011 national budget would impose taxes on churches and mosques. A statement issued in Accra by the Minister for Information, John Akologu Tia, described as "mischievous and untrue" claims by an Accra-bas= ed newspaper that the government's budget for next year would impose taxes o= n religious bodies.

"I want to assure adherents of the various religions, including Christians and Muslims, that no tax has been imposed on churches and mosq= ues under next year's budget", the Minister said.

It said the portion of the Budget statement that spoke about amendin= g the law to tax all commercial activities of some institutions that enjoye= d tax-free status had been "deliberately distorted". The portion in the budget stated: "Madam Speaker, some institutions=

enjoy tax-free status because of the original non-profit motive that established them. However, in recent times, some of these institutions ha= ve expanded their scope of operations to include commercial activities, ther= eby making substantive profits but not paying taxes on them. Madam Speaker, government will amend the law to allow the Commissioner-General to tax al= l commercial activities undertaken by the affected institutions."